[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 156 (Thursday, September 28, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1293-E1294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               H.R. 3354

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SUZANNE BONAMICI

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 28, 2017

  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 
3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act. I am 
grateful to the Chairman and Ranking Member for including many of my 
policy priorities in the bill, but I cannot support the final measure 
because of the devastating cuts to education funding, environmental 
resources, and our nation's healthcare system.
  In 2015, Congress passed the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act. 
It is our responsibility to provide the resources necessary for states 
and localities to fully serve students as authorized by ESSA. 
Unfortunately, the bill we are voting on undermines one of the great 
successes of the ESSA by significantly underfunding the Student Support 
and Academic Enrichment Grants. Congress intended these grants to go to 
school districts so they can provide locally-tailored programming and 
supportive services for students, including school-based mental health 
programs, drug prevention programs, expanded access to arts, music, and 
foreign language programs, and other programs that fit the needs of 
districts. I am grateful that my amendment to highlight the need for 
full funding of this program was included in the bill, but I am deeply 
disappointed that we have not committed to providing this critical 
resource to local communities.
  Another central tenet of the ESSA was a commitment to reducing 
student testing, and making sure that states and school districts are 
able to audit their assessment systems and eliminate duplicative and 
ineffective tests.

[[Page E1294]]

The State Assessment Grants provide funding for these efforts, and I 
thank the Appropriations Committee for accepting my bipartisan 
amendment to fully fund these efforts.
  The final bill includes my bipartisan amendment to increase funding 
for Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Grants, 
which will provide tradeswomen in Oregon the support and assistance 
necessary to advance their careers and retain good-paying jobs. The 
bill also includes my amendment to fund Title VIII Nursing Workforce 
Programs through separate line-items, which will preserve funding for 
the individual programs, including Advanced Education Nursing; Nursing 
Workforce Diversity; Nurse Education, Practice, and Retention; and the 
Nurse Faculty Loan Program.
  Additionally, my amendment to provide critical resources to combat 
coastal climate threats by highlighting the need for funding ocean 
acidification programs was adopted, as was my amendment to increase 
funding to mitigate harmful algal blooms. Ocean acidification and 
harmful algal blooms are decimating our oceans and lakes, destroying 
wildlife, and crippling our local economies. Increasing funding for 
NOAA's ocean acidification and harmful algal blooms programs will give 
our coastal communities additional resources to understand and address 
these threats.
  Despite these victories, the bill did not earn my support because of 
the harmful cuts and policy riders that remain. The bill underfunds the 
Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, and undermines the National Oceans Policy. 
It eliminates Title X Family Planning, and eliminates funding for Teen 
Pregnancy Prevention Programs. The bill undermines the Affordable Care 
Act by prohibiting funding from being used to further provisions of the 
law, including ACA navigators. As Congress continues work on an FY2018 
funding package, I urge my colleagues to put aside their partisan 
policy priorities and advance a bill that invests in our communities 
and sets them up for success.

                          ____________________