[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 153 (Thursday, November 17, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H10512-H10514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3010,
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 559 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 559
Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be
in order to consider the conference report to accompany the
bill (H.R. 3010) making appropriations for the Departments of
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related
Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and
for other purposes. All points of order against the
conference report and against its consideration are waived.
The conference report shall be considered as read.
{time} 1100
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The gentlewoman from West
Virginia (Mrs. Capito) is recognized for 1 hour.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the
customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui),
pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During
consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose
of debate only.
Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 559 is a rule which waives all points
of order against the conference report accompanying H.R. 3010 and
against its consideration. The rule provides that the conference report
shall be considered as read.
Mr. Speaker, the underlying legislation is one of the most important
measures we consider each year. I would like to congratulate the
members of the Appropriations Committee for putting together a
comprehensive package that will improve the education of our children,
care for our seniors and our underprivileged.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to see that since Republicans took control of
Congress, funding for the Department of Education has doubled. More
recently, over the last 5 years, total education spending has increased
by nearly 50 percent. Our children will benefit from an improved
educational system that will enhance their ability to succeed and
better prepare the next generation of workers.
The fundamental root of all education is reading. As a parent and a
former educator, the time I spent reading with my children will be
forever cherished. Unfortunately, some of our youth do not have that
opportunity at home. So included in this legislation is $1 billion for
reading programs that will enable States to eliminate the reading
deficit through scientific research-based reading programs.
I am also very pleased that the TRIO and GEAR UP programs are
included in this all important funding package. These programs assist
low-income, first generation college students in their transition from
high school to college. This is a difficult transition for any student,
but especially for those who are the first in their families to attend
college. We must continue to support programs like TRIO and GEAR UP so
that these students can continue to flourish.
Mr. Speaker, another important responsibility we have is to ensure
that citizens have access to health care facilities and treatments.
Included in this legislation is a $66 million increase in the Community
Health Centers that are so vitally important across the Nation, but
especially in rural States like my home State of West Virginia.
The National Institutes of Health continues to serve our Nation well
by developing new treatments and cures for the many diseases that
plague our society. With a total funding level of $28.6 billion, the
researchers at NIH will be able to continue this mission so that we
become a healthier Nation and global society.
A key aspect of a healthier society is where all citizens have access
to prescription drugs, and I am proud to say that as of November 15,
just 2 days ago, Medicare eligible beneficiaries have been able to sign
up for a prescription drug plan under Medicare. The resources provided
in the underlying legislation will allow the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid services to properly conduct an outreach effort that will
hopefully enroll every senior that stands to benefit from this program.
Mr. Speaker, we are all aware of the challenges that could
potentially face all Americans in the coming winter, especially the
high cost of natural gas. I am pleased to say that the State formula
grants for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as
LIHEAP, are funded at $2 billion in this legislation and an additional
$1 billion will be included in the House version of the budget
reconciliation bill.
As with any appropriations legislation, tough choices were made.
These choices are particularly difficult when dealing with the
sensitive areas of health and education. The Appropriations Committee
allotted the available resources in this bill in a manner that
emphasizes these programs most important to our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, this is solid legislation that I believe all Members
should be able to support.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from West Virginia
for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
(Ms. MATSUI asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, today we consider House Resolution 559, the
rule allowing consideration of the conference report accompanying the
fiscal year 2006 Labor HHS Education Appropriations bill. This
legislation is the clearest demonstration of the contempt for the
proper functioning of this body and ultimately disrespect for
democracy.
The Labor HHS Education Appropriations bill is an incredibly
important piece of legislation. It determines funding levels for job
training programs, community college programs, child labor protections,
and community health centers.
This legislation is the primary funding vehicle for the National
Institutes of Health. It determines how our government approaches
timely and important issues like stem cell research,
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global AIDS research, pediatric medicine, cancer research, and so many
other critical issues. It is also the principal funder of some of the
most innovative and practical research going on today at the
universities and colleges across the Nation.
In my home State of California, two thirds of all basic research at
the University of California system is from Federal dollars. As
examples using these dollars, the university researchers found a way to
differentiate Alzheimer's from other dementia. They are making strides
on identifying genes that cause specific cancers. They are looking into
factors that influence brain development.
The reason I am pointing to all of this is to underscore just how
important this legislation is to the daily lives of our fellow
Americans. And having established that this bill is a crucial bill for
the health, welfare, education, and prosperity of the American people,
I would ask my counterparts on the Republican side of the aisle why on
earth is it that no one has seen this conference report? Why is it that
as of this morning, this very morning, we are scheduled to consider and
vote upon this legislation that no one in the House of Representatives,
with exception of a very few in the Republican leadership, has even
laid eyes on, much less read or analyzed? We did not even go into the
Rules Committee to consider this legislation until 7 o'clock this
morning under emergency rules.
The original version of this bill passed the House months ago, and I
might remind my fellow Americans that it was in this bill that the
Republican leadership of this body tried to quietly eliminate funding
for the Public Broadcasting System and Sesame Street. Thankfully, under
incredible pressure they were forced to reverse themselves.
And since then, this bill and its Senate companion have been locked
away in conference. A handful of appointees of this Republican
leadership have had months to meet in smokey back rooms. This select
group decided for all of us here today and for every American family
what should and should not be in the final version of the bill. So with
that understanding, let me say that this is, at best, a short-sided
piece of legislation.
No Child Left Behind funding is cut by $784 million. The maximum Pell
Grant award is frozen for the 4th straight year, and no new funding for
all other student financial aid and support programs is provided. The
bill provides $4 billion less than Republicans promised for special
education through IDEA. Training grants for health care professionals
are cut $206 million.
I want everyone in America to understand exactly why these programs
are being cut. Because in the face of gross fiscal mismanagement on the
part of this majority, they want to pass a $56 billion tax cut for
wealthy Americans this coming week. Over half of that money, $23
billion, will go to the very wealthiest of Americans, those earning
over $1 million per year.
Now, I am certainly not suggesting that there are not government
programs that cannot be cut. But what we are talking about are
educational programs, health and safety programs, and treatment
programs that not only work, but they work well for middle class
American families, and they are being sacrificed for tax cuts for the
most wealthy and the super rich. The rest of America is being left
behind.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, we are facing an increasingly costly war in
Iraq, significant and necessary hurricane relief needs, and a looming
crisis over avian flu. The debate I urge my colleagues to have, a
debate not yet addressed by my friends on the other side of the aisle,
is really about shared sacrifice and about what the true priorities of
the American people are.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would like to point out that this bill probably touches every
single American's life. It is extremely important because it is the
broad reach of education and health care, and these are very
complicated and large programs. And I want to congratulate the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), chairman of the subcommittee, for the
intense work that he has done not only on our side, but through the
conference.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Regula).
(Mr. REGULA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this
time.
I want to compliment both speakers from the Rules Committee. I think
they have described in many ways the strength of this bill.
This bill illustrates the compassion of America. And as has been
pointed out by both speakers, it touches the lives of 280 million
Americans in so many different ways, their education, health research
to improve the quality of their lives, perhaps illustrated by the fact,
as Dr. Zerhouni testified in front of our committee, that every 5
years, life expectancy goes up 1 year in the United States. That is a
tremendous gain and a tremendous promise for the future.
And, likewise, we recognize the importance of education. The future
of a nation is so much tied to that. Tom Friedman, the writer for The
New York Times, in his book ``The World is Flat,'' points out that we
will be enormously challenged as a Nation in the years ahead by other
countries that are spending a lot of money, a lot of energy, and a lot
of human resources on education, because they too recognize that the
winner of the future will be determined by the way in which they can
educate their people.
This bill I call the ``good neighbor policy'' bill, because it means
that we are all good neighbors to each other. And I think it does
illustrate very clearly that America is a compassionate Nation, a
compassionate people, and they are willing to commit resources to
helping others. In the general debate, we will mention some of those
things.
I would hope all of my colleagues who are going to be voting on this
bill in the next couple or 3 hours would take a look at what is in
there and how important many of these programs are to the Americans.
There are 500 programs covered in this bill, and each one of them, in
some way or another, touches the quality of life of the people of this
Nation so that every American, in one way or another, as pointed out by
the gentlewoman from California, has a stake on this bill and what it
does in their lives. So, hopefully, we will all reach the understanding
and support this bill.
Obviously, it may not have enough to suit everybody in terms of
commitment of resources. Tough decisions have to be made. Priorities
have to be decided. And what we tried to do on a bipartisan basis in
the subcommittee, and we have a great group of members that serve on
this subcommittee from both sides, is to make those very difficult
priority judgments on behalf of the American people. And as was pointed
out by both of the previous speakers, we have, hopefully, accomplished
that goal as best as possible given the resources that were allocated.
Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
New York (Mrs. Maloney).
Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me
this time.
I rise in opposition to this bill and to the rule.
Let it be known that November 17, 2005, is the day this Congress
officially forgot the heroes of 9/11. When we vote on this conference
report, we will be taking away $125 million promised to sick 9/11
workers. This is money these men and women were promised by this
Congress and by the President in 2001. But now, in an era of
misdirected priorities, the President and this Congress are snatching
the money back.
In fact, this bill is full of misdirected priorities when we consider
that the Republican leadership will spend more on tax cuts this week,
$70 billion, than they will on education and labor programs for the
entire coming year, $68 billion.
{time} 1115
You only start to realize how out of touch this Congress is with the
priorities of the average American people. I hear daily from Members of
Congress that we will never forget 9/11; but when we turn a cold
shoulder to the men and women who were there for us in our
[[Page H10514]]
greatest hour of need, I cannot in good conscience vote for this bill.
The 9/11 responders are not asking for much. All they are asking for
is to be treated with respect and dignity. They rushed to Ground Zero
with no concern for their own safety. We were under attack, and America
needed help. They responded; and as a result, many of them are very
sick now. The government's response has been to fight these heroes
every step of the way. Many have had their claims denied or wrapped up
in red tape for months or years.
Then when not all of the money was spent in New York State, we are
told this is justification for taking it back, even though the need is
still great. This shell game would be comical if it were not so sad and
so hard on the lives of these people.
I know this decision today is not the fault of the gentleman from
Ohio (Chairman Regula). I understand that his hands are tied on this
issue. I would also like to thank a fellow New Yorker, Mr. Walsh. He
has been an absolute champion for this issue in the committee.
Despite their hard work and the work of a united New York delegation,
united Democrats and Republicans, the outcome today is not what it
should be. The one thing I know and I can promise is that this fight is
not over. I speak for all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle,
certainly in the New York delegation, that we are not going to stop
until we meet the needs of the heroes of 9/11 and this promised money
of $125 million is restored to the budget. Anything short is just plain
wrong, and it hurts the health care of our heroes.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk a little bit about some of the
priorities, particularly in the education section of this bill. I have
already mentioned the TRIO and GEAR UP programs for first-time college
goers. Certainly those are important programs in my State and
throughout the United States.
But let us look at something that we are lacking across the Nation,
and that is in our math and sciences. There has been special emphasis
in this bill on math and science partnerships so we can train our
future engineers to compete globally.
The chairman spoke about how the world is flat. Well, if we do not
have math and science education at the elementary and high school
level, we are not going to be able to compete in the global market. So
I am proud of the $184 million that is going to help with training
teachers.
Special education is something that I think touches many, many
families throughout the United States. We hear a lot about that in our
office, and I am certain every Member's office. In special ed, this
bill is funding over last year's budget $100 million. Will that meet
every need for every special ed student? No, unfortunately it will not,
and it cannot. But it will go towards helping those families and that
student become a productive person in their adult life.
Reading programs and improving teacher quality programs. Certainly
the key to success in school is reading, but the key to success in
school is a good teacher. We need to improve the teacher quality and
help our teachers become not only as good as they can be but even
better. And that goes also to the principals. There is a principal
shortage here in our country. We have to work with our teachers so they
want to become principals and guide our teachers to educate our
children. Those are some of the education priorities I wanted to
highlight in this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this country is at a critical crossroads in terms of
deciding what it stands for, what its priorities are. Our priorities
should be to make decisions based on shared sacrifice and a long-term
view that seeks to fight for the least powerful among us.
Unfortunately, this rule would allow legislation with a shortsighted
approach to come to the floor. All of us, Democrats and Republicans,
hope that medical science will provide the breakthrough to provide
relief from a disease which will ease a family member's suffering.
We all worry about whether rising energy costs will force seniors to
make life-and-death decisions about where to spend their limited
resources.
And yet this conference report ignores those very needs. It narrowly
restricts the future of all Americans so that a very few might have a
bit more of a tax break. That is an approach that I hope all Members
will reject.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this fair rule
and the bipartisan underlying legislation which funds critical dollars
to our Nation's educational system, health care delivery system, and as
the gentlewoman from California spoke so eloquently about, our health
research areas.
With this funding, low-income Americans will be better prepared for a
potentially long winter. It got a little colder here today, and we know
it is going to continue to be cold as we move through the winter; and
this bill provides $2 billion in LIHEAP funding. Our seniors will
greatly benefit from the money appropriated, allowing CMS to conduct
outreach to all Medicare beneficiaries who are now able to sign up for
the new Medicare prescription drug plan.
These are all important programs, and there are others too numerous
to mention. I urge my colleagues to support the rule, support the
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the
previous question on the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the
resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will
be postponed.
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