[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 34 (Thursday, February 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E464-E465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1105, OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 25, 2009

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1105, 
the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, and I thank Chairman Obey, my 
Chairman, as well as the leadership, for their work in putting this 
bill together.
  Today's action on the Omnibus Appropriations bill will complete 
action on the federal budget for fiscal year 2009.
  When we originally began this process over a year ago, we were 
dealing with a President who rejected the idea that we needed to invest 
in our children's education.
  He didn't think we should fund job training and employment services 
to ensure that American workers could compete in the global economy.
  He didn't think that all Americans should have access to quality 
affordable health care, or that we should try and lift up the more than 
37 million people living in poverty.
  He rejected the basic notion that ``an ounce of prevention is worth a 
pound of cure'' and tried to cut funding for the CDC, while opposing 
increases in funding for cutting edge biomedical research to create the 
next generation of miracle drugs.
  He told us in no uncertain terms that he would veto any federal 
budget we passed that tried to invest in education, job training, 
healthcare, alternative energy, and local law enforcement and ensure 
the continued prosperity of our nation.
  And he did so while demanding that we provide hundreds of billions of 
dollars to fund the ongoing war and occupation in Iraq, and to bail out 
the banking industry for their greed and mismanagement.
  Rather than accepting the President's position that the American 
people were not worth investing in, we decided to wait him out.
  Today we have a President, who rejects the failed economic policies 
and ideologies of the last eight years.
  We have a President who believes that, yes, the American people--our 
constituents--deserve a government that works for them, and that is 
willing to invest in them to ensure that they can get a good education, 
live healthy and productive lives, and obtain meaningful employment, 
and raise their children in a just and peaceful world.
  Yes, Mr. Speaker, change has indeed come to our nation's capital. And 
now we've got to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
  The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 makes critical investments in 
a range of programs and builds on the economic stimulus package to help 
put America to work.
  I urge my colleagues to support it.

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