[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19788]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor 
today in full support of H.R. 3043, the Labor, Health and Human 
Services and Education Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008. By 
bringing this bill to the House floor, we demonstrate again the hard 
work of the Democratic majority to reverse the trend of critical cuts 
to programs that improve the lives of all Americans.
  The bill includes an additional $750 million for the National 
Institutes of Health, another $400 million for the Social Security 
Administration to address the backlog of disability cases and reviews 
and, most dramatically, $2 billion additionally to improve the 
requirements of No Child Left Behind.
  Additionally, Head Start will get $75 million in additional funding 
under this bill. But when you look at it, in real dollar terms, that's 
actually a decrease. Head Start is widely recognized as one of our most 
productive education programs. For every dollar that we spend on Head 
Start we bring in $9 in future benefits in taxes. So the benefits of 
Head Start do not end just with the preparation for school.
  And I understand there are budgetary constraints but, Mr. Speaker, I 
hope that in the conference committee we can actually put real money 
into Head Start.

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