Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016
Floor Speech
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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the omnibus appropriations bill before this Chamber.
In many ways, this omnibus moves the Federal budget in the right direction. It begins to leave behind the shortsighted policies of austerity that have slowed our economic recovery.
But I am disappointed it does not go further. I am troubled that the Labor-HHS-Education bill received only a fraction, about one-half of its fair share of the $33 billion increase provided by the recent budget deal.
While we were successful on many fronts, the bill still does not adequately fund many of our Nation's highest priorities.
I have also been fighting for years to remove a policy rider carried in this bill that prevents the Centers for Disease Control from funding research on gun violence. Even Congressman Dickey, who authored the rider, is now opposed.
This bill, however, does begin to make incremental progress, and there are many, many successes to highlight. It provides an additional $2 billion for the NIH, which will boost efforts to develop cures to improve our quality of life. It provides an increase of more than $300 million for the Centers for Disease Control, including $160 million to address the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The bill provides a much-needed increase of $326 million for child care and a boost of $570 million for Head Start. These high-quality early learning programs reduce inequality and narrow achievement gaps.
There are sizable increases of $455 million for special education, $500 million for Title I grants to support disadvantaged students, and nearly $200 million more than last year for job training and apprentice programs.
But imagine if we had chosen to give labor, health, and education programs the fair funding that they deserve this year. We could be expanding access to high-quality child care and early childhood education for more children and families in need. We could be funding partnerships between community colleges and funding technical training to develop the most highly skilled workforce in the world. We could have provided the NIH with a bigger increase.
Tomorrow, I will vote to support this omnibus bill. It is a down payment on reversing the austerity of the last few years. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
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