[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E296-E297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 15, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense and the other 
     departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes:

  Mr. CONNELLY of Virginia. Mr. Chair, I rise to strike the last word. 
This Continuing Resolution would cripple our Nation's transportation 
infrastructure and terminate crucial investments in public safety. It 
also would close down community health centers across America, leaving 
many children and the elderly without vital health care. For example, 
in my district this proposed cut could close the Prince William 
Community Health Center. That would eliminate necessary health care for 
19,000 of my constituents. In Louisa County, Virginia, which is 
represented by the new Majority Leader, this proposal could close the 
lone health facility where residents can receive care. Statewide, 
93,000 Virginians would lose health care while 163 employees of 
community health clinics would lose their jobs. These clinics do not 
provide optional or cosmetic care. They offer the most basic services 
necessary for survival. These clinics, which serve virtually every 
Congressional district, serve some of the hardest working Americans who 
have been victims of long-term increases in health insurance premiums, 
which have put affordable care out of their reach.
  This Continuing Resolution demonstrates extraordinary callousness and 
hypocrisy on the part of the Republican leadership. They claim to be 
interested in the sanctity of human life while cutting off the only 
source of health care for tens of thousands of Virginians. Incredibly, 
the Republican leadership blocked an amendment by Representative 
Baldwin which would have restored $1 billion in funding for community 
health centers.
  I urge my colleagues to reject the unconscionable cuts in community 
health center funding and defeat this Continuing Resolution.

[[Page E297]]



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