[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3061, DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN 
 SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2001

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 
conference report and I urge its adoption. I want to thank the Ranking 
Member, Mr. Obey, for yielding me this time and for his strong and 
forceful leadership not only on this bill, but also for the American 
people.
  I want to recognize the Chairman of our Subcommittee, Mr. Regula. He 
has been an absolute pleasure to work with and has gone out of his way 
to ensure that the bill was crafted in a bipartisan manner and that the 
concerns of Members on both sides of the aisle were considered.
  Mr. Speaker, this conference report provides tremendous increases for 
health, education and worker safety and training. We've been able to 
follow up on the promises we made on this floor last week when we 
passed the ESEA conference report in this bill. Increases in Title I 
funding will ensure that our most disadvantaged children have access to 
a quality education. Pell Grants will reach a maximum of $4,000 per 
student, giving low-income students a helping hand in paying for 
college. Overall, the bill boosts education funding by over $1 billion, 
to its highest level ever.
  In health programs, the bill continues to provide an unprecedented 
level of funding for medical research. We are in an age of tremendous 
discovery in medical research, and the resources provided to NIH will 
help find treatments and cures for many diseases. There are increases 
for mental health research and treatment, HIV/AIDS programs, and 
programs for the elderly. And, we address the growing threat of 
bioterrorism by giving the CDC, our leader in this fight, greater 
resources to help keep our nation secure.
  Even with these vast increases for so many programs, we know that 
next year will be very different. The surpluses we've enjoyed have 
disappeared. And, the President's tax cuts will take up more and more 
of the federal budget as we go forward. We're just beginning to fund 
education and healthcare at the levels they deserve. I am concerned, as 
are many of my colleagues, that we will not be able to provide this 
same level of funding next year.
  I want to mention one area of critical importance--the need to combat 
obesity in this country. The Surgeon General reported last week that 
two out of three American adults are overweight. In fact, he estimates 
that obesity will cause more deaths than smoking in the coming years. 
Reducing the rate of obesity can prevent unnecessary illness and death. 
We've been so successful in convincing people to quit smoking, and this 
should be the next big fight for public health.
  I know that Chairman Regula and Mr. Obey will be very interested in 
that effort, and I want to again thank the Chairman and Ranking Member 
for their tireless efforts in putting this bill together. I urge 
adoption of the conference report.




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