[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 305-306]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




REGARDING THE INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION PROVIDING APPROPRIATIONS FOR 
    FISCAL YEAR 2003 FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN 
                SERVICES, EDUCATION AND RELATED AGENCIES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RALPH REGULA

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 8, 2003

  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to 
provide appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human 
Services, Education and Related Agencies for fiscal year 2003.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an appropriations bill that truly touches every 
life in our nation--from funding our children's education, to research 
on countless diseases to job training funding to improve our nation's 
workforce and thus our competitiveness in the world economy.
  The bill I am introducing today provides $130,902,000,000 for the 
discretionary programs and activities within the jurisdiction of the 
Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies. It is the 
same funding level as the President's budget request and $3.3 billion 
over the fiscal year 2002 level.
  The challenging demands of funding the important programs in this 
bill have required us to seek a very delicate balance in crafting the 
legislation. Therefore, I would like to share with my colleagues some 
of the programs we have focused our attention on in structuring this 
bill.


                       Health and Human Services

  First in the area of our nation's health, we are providing $26.6 
billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and increase of 
$3.357 billion over last year. This funding level brings us very close 
to our final investment in our five year commitment to double the NIH 
biomedical research budget. Research efforts to date have resulted in 
great progress in understanding, preventing and treating disease and I 
am pleased to support these efforts.
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is our nation's 
first line of defense in bioterrorism preparedness. The agency is also 
our nation's leader in promoting health and wellness as well as disease 
prevention. It is critical that we support the CDC's efforts in these 
areas, and we therefore provide $4.3 billion for fiscal 2003 to carry 
out these functions.
  The Health Resources and Services Administration programs provide the 
vital backbone for carrying out health programs across the nation. We 
provide $1.457 billion for Community Health Centers, the access points 
for healthcare for our nation's uninsured and underinsured. This is a 
$115 million increase over last year's level. At this new level, we 
anticipate that nearly 13 million people will receive these important 
services.
  The Health Professions account in this bill has a long tradition of 
support by the Members of this House, and I am pleased to report that 
the bill continues this longstanding tradition. We have included $377.6 
million for the numerous health professions accounts. Included in this 
number is additional funding for nursing education, as our nation is 
now experiencing a critical nursing shortage.
  Two further health programs of importance to many Members in this 
body include funding for the Ryan White CARE Act, at $1.93 billion and 
Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education at $292 million.
  LIHEAP, the program that provides heating and cooling assistance to 
the poor will receive $1.7 billion in regular formula grant funding, 
the same level as last year. All of the funding is provided to the 
states for distribution to families and individuals rather than 
diverting a portion to emergencies as requested, as $300 million for 
emergency funding remains available for this purpose.
  Other human services programs we focus priority funding on include 
the Safe and Stable Family program that we fund at $70 million. To 
support those young people who are no longer of eligible age to receive 
foster care, we are providing $40 million for Independent Living 
Vouchers. Finally, for the Compassion Capital Fund we are providing $30 
million and for abstinence education we are providing $60 million, 
bringing the total for discretionary pro-family initiatives to $200 
million.

[[Page 306]]




                               education

  Turning to education, Mr. Speaker, this appropriations bill provides 
the funding for implementing our nation's new elementary and secondary 
education law, the No Child Left Behind Act. Since the enactment of 
this important law a year ago, much attention has been devoted to the 
need to fund this law, giving states and local education agencies the 
necessary resources to comply with the act.
  The bill I am introducing today provides the important resources to 
assist teachers, school administrators, parents and students to achieve 
the goals of this new law. Funding for the numerous programs included 
in the No Child Left Behind Act totals $22.3 billion. This figure 
includes increases in the following areas: $500 million for the Title I 
program; $100 million for teacher quality, $100 million for the new 
Reading First program and $87.5 million for Math and Science 
Partnerships. Also of substantial importance, Special Education is 
increased by $500 million over last year.
  Mr. Speaker, to some in the education arena this funding level may 
not be sufficient. However, I would like to take the opportunity to 
remind my colleagues that education is not exclusively about dollars. 
Historically, we have watched federal funding for Title I and other 
programs increase while test scores either remained stagnant or have 
actually declined. Hence, in the No Child Left Behind Act we seek 
results. Results in student achievement, results in accountability. How 
can we best accomplish these goals? I believe we can achieve these 
goals by ensuring that every year, every child has a good teacher in 
his or her classroom It is for this reason that I continue to dedicate 
attention and resources to teacher quality in this bill.
  Pell Grants continue to receive pressure for funding, as large 
numbers of people of returned to higher education as a result of our 
economic downturn. These new students seek additional skills to improve 
their position in our job market and in our global economy. In the bill 
we retain the maximum level for the Pell Grant set last year at $4000, 
providing $11.2 billion to fund the program. At this level nearly 4.5 
million students are expected to receive this aid.
  Head Start is an important program that serves our nation's poor and 
is being called upon to more fully prepare our nation's children for 
school. We are providing $6.667 billion for this program. At this 
funding level, we anticipate that program may serve 915,000 children.


                                 labor

  Keeping in mind our nation's current economic situation, the bill 
focuses increases within the Department of Labor account on dislocated 
workers, providing an additional $113 million above fiscal year 2002. 
With this increase, local workforce development boards will receive a 
total of $1.4 billion for re-employment assistance to these dislocated 
workers.


                               conclusion

  Mr. Speaker, the numbers before us represent our best efforts at 
crafting this bill. It focuses our priorities on protecting our nation 
against bioterrorism, providing assistance to dislocated workers and 
investing in our future by funding important education programs. The 
numbers are subject to change as we proceed to work both here in the 
House and together with the other body to produce a final bill.

                          ____________________