[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 172 (Wednesday, November 7, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2346-E2347]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3043, DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN 
 SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 6, 2007

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the FY 
2008 Labor-HHS Conference Report which--together with this year's 
Military Construction-Veterans Affairs spending bill--announces an 
important new direction regarding the Nation's priorities.
  We start with our most basic investment: education. Today's 
conference report increases education funding by $4.5 billion over the 
President's request--including an additional $254 million for Head 
Start so more children can access a high quality early childhood 
education; $600 million more for No Child Left Behind to improve 
teacher quality, enhance after school programming and deploy 21st 
century classroom technology; an $800 million boost for special 
education; and a new $2 billion investment for higher education which 
will enable us to significantly increase the current value of the 
maximum Pell Grant from $4,310 to $4,925. Additionally, I am very 
pleased that the final conference report contains $12 million for Teach 
for America, one of our Nation's premiere teacher training programs.
  Because we are competing in a rapidly changing global economy, and 
because education is in truth a lifelong process, this conference 
report also makes responsible investments in job training and 
vocational education--$609 million over the President's request for 
workforce development; another $606 million for vocational education; 
and $98 million on top of the President's request for Job Corps and the 
vital training, placement and support services it provides.
  On health, today's legislation wisely rejects the President's 
proposed $480 million cut at the National Institutes of Health, NIH, in 
favor of a $1.4 billion increase over the President's budget so that 
the NIH can continue its cutting edge research into deadly scourges 
like cancer, Alzheimer's and heart disease. This additional funding--
representing the cost of just 3 days in Iraq--will fund over 1,400 more 
research grants into these and other life-threatening illnesses. 
Furthermore, in an effort to address the plight of the Nation's 47 
million uninsured, this legislation enhances health care access by 
investing $1.5 billion into community health centers, state health care 
access initiatives and high risk insurance pools.

[[Page E2347]]

Together, these investments will serve over 1.5 million citizens 
without health care coverage in the coming year.
  Finally, Madam Speaker, Sunday is Veterans Day. With our Nation at 
war, this conference report honors our brave men and women in uniform 
by proposing the largest single increase for the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in the institution's 77-year history. The $43.1 billion this 
legislation appropriates will enable us to provide quality care to 5.8 
million patients, add 1,800 processors to tackle the outstanding 
backlog of 400,000 claims, and invest in needed treatment for 
increasingly prevalent conditions like traumatic brain injury, TBI, and 
post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. It is the least we can do--and 
now is the time for us to do it.
  Madam Speaker, these two bills both passed the House with strong, 
bipartisan majorities. Together, they set the right priorities for 
America. They comply with our five-year balanced budget plan. And they 
deserve our support today.

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