[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21654]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

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                      HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, III

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 31, 2015

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, on December 18, 2015, I was unable to vote 
on Roll Call 705.
  If I had been present, I would have supported H.R. 2029, the fiscal 
year 2016 omnibus spending legislation.
  I would have voted in favor of this legislation because it includes 
necessary funding to keep the government operating. It provides needed 
clarifications to ensure the work of the National Network for 
Manufacturing Innovation coordinates among existing manufacturing 
institutes and moves forward in the investment of new centers. 
Additionally it includes an increase, over 2015 enacted levels, of $2 
billion for the National Institutes of Health and $132 million for the 
Food and Drug Administration. The legislation provides a $6.4 billion 
increase for veterans services and a one-time appropriation for 
international food aid. Finally, the AmeriCorps program will receive 
$368 million, which is a 15% increase over last year's funding levels.
  However no compromise bill is ever perfect, and I am disappointed 
that the bill fails to lift the ban prohibiting the Centers for Disease 
Control from researching the impact of gun violence.

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