[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 22, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H4901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE PRIORITY FOR THIS NATION

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, this is the 68th session day that we 
have had in this 109th Congress. We have passed bankruptcy reform, 
class action reform, an aggressive agenda, and many of the Democrats 
are voting for this agenda.
  And today we are continuing to move forward with an appropriations 
bill. We are going to be passing the Labor, HHS, and Education 
appropriations bill. And I would like to take a moment to commend the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), subcommittee chairman, and the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), the Committee on Appropriations 
chairman, on a provision in this bill. This bill will do something we 
have talked about doing a lot: reducing spending, prioritizing. Fifty-
six programs will be terminated, programs that have outlived their 
usefulness. It will be a $3.8 billion savings for the taxpayers.
  And why do we have our focus on priorities? Why does this majority 
have its focus on priorities? Because we know funding the war on 
terror, keeping this homeland safe, preserving freedom, is the priority 
for this great Nation.
  I commend the leadership for their good work. I look forward to the 
debate on this bill.

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