[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 14 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H162]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FISCAL YEAR 2007 BUDGET

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise because I believe working-class 
Americans deserve a Federal budget which is compassionate, decent, and 
provides hope to the American public.
  President Bush's budget for fiscal year 2007 fails on all counts and 
provides insufficient funding for one of our Nation's greatest 
investments: its health.
  Despite the confusing and poorly implemented new Medicare 
prescription drug benefit program, President Bush's budget cuts 
Medicare by $35 billion in the next 5 years, it cuts funding for public 
health programs by $126 million, and puts more families at risk of food 
and security by cutting more than $706 million in assistance.
  Even with the growing problem of health care disparities and lack of 
insurance for communities of color, the budget slashes the Office of 
Minority Health Programs by 20 percent.
  To our children, to those battling high health care costs, and to the 
uninsured, this budget, in my opinion, is not compassionate and it 
doesn't provide the American public with hope.
  Americans deserve better. We must not inflict this pain on the most 
vulnerable populations in our country.

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