[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11697-S11698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       END OF THE 109TH CONGRESS

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, as the 109th Congress wraps up its 
final session, I want to note my disappointment that the current 
leadership decided not to work on all 10 of the appropriations bills 
that remain undone. Congress is adjourning and walking away with much 
of our work incomplete.
  It is irresponsible and wrong. We should have stayed and made the 
tough decisions to get the appropriations done. The Federal budget is 
due October 1. We missed that deadline, as we have often in recent 
years. The leadership adjourned for the elections, and when we returned 
the leadership lacked the will and determination to finish the 
appropriations bill. Many individuals Senators, including me, would 
have stayed and worked hard to get the job done. But we were 
overridden.
  Failure to enact the appropriations in a timely manner hurts programs 
because administrators cannot plan and they cannot hire staff in a 
timely manner. This can create real problems in our VA hospitals, our 
Head Start agencies and the clinics funded by the Maternal and child 
health block grant.
  This year, instead of doing our work, the congressional leaders are 
punting the tough budget decisions into the next year and the next 
Congress. On February 15, 2007, when the continuing resolution, CR, 
expires, agencies will have been operating for 4\1/2\ months under a CR 
which represents more than a third of the fiscal year. This imposes 
burdens and hardships on the people that our agencies of Government 
serve. It is failure of leadership.
  The Coalition of Human Needs has done some estimates about these cuts 
and their effects since 2002. Their analysis highlights that over time 
72 programs of direct services have been cut when inflation is 
considered. Inflation erodes buying power over time, and it makes a 
stark difference in what services needy children and families receive. 
The coalition reports that 35 programs were cut by 10 percent or more, 
including essential programs like family violence, maternal and child 
health block grant, and Even Start, the early education component of 
Head Start. Such cuts are harsh and, in my view, shortsighted. 
Investments in our children's health care and education are 
downpayments for our future.
  Housing programs, economic development investments in water and sewer 
projects, and basic funding for local law enforcement, along with a 
host of other programs will be put on hold for the next 9 weeks. I wish 
this were not the case, but sadly it is.
  My hope for the new Congress and the new leadership is that we will 
get the job done. I am proud to note that the leaders for the 110th 
Congress, which begins on January 4, 2007, have

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already announced their commitment to strike a new tone and to unite 
the interest of the American people. I will work with our leaders to 
get our work done for the families in West Virginia and across our 
country.

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