Amendment No. 1 Offered By Mr. Massie

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself 2\1/2\ minutes.

Mr. Chair, before I get into the specifics of this amendment, I will start with, hopefully, common ground.

In this Chamber, we can all agree that Members know their districts best. I asked a question. Isn't that right? Isn't that what we always assert, that we know our districts best?

Further, we often hear, mostly from the other side of the aisle, about how unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., are making too many decisions about Federal spending.

I don't subscribe to that view because true career civil servants work hard to ensure that programs are executed according to the law, but if my friends on the other side of the aisle want Congress to make more granular decisions about spending, then that is exactly what is happening through the community projects funding process, which we have established.

This is not top down. It is bottom up, and it has been enormously successful since it has been implemented in the last several years for both sides of the aisle for communities all over this Nation.

It is not wasteful, porkbarrel spending, and my friends don't get to have it both ways.

Instead, it is a thoughtful process of House Members and Senators talking to their communities about their needs, balancing those priorities, advocating for inclusion in these bills, and delivering for their constituents in a clear, transparent way.

These community projects have been posted online since last fall and no opposition has been raised. Yet at the eleventh hour, it seems that some Republicans, once again, are attempting to unravel a compromise by slashing funding for healthcare services and education programs for children and for the needy.

Let me give you some examples.

The amendment would eliminate funding to Seattle Children's Hospital for a behavioral health crisis stabilization unit. The underlying funding would enable Seattle Children's Hospital to create a dedicated space for children needing immediate, short-term psychiatric care.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, the amendment would also eliminate funding to the Ann & Robert Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago for a violence recovery and intervention program. The underlying funding would serve pediatric victims of violence with trauma-informed mental health and recovery services.

Should we not be doing that? Should that not happen for that community?

The amendment would eliminate funding to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego for pediatric mental health services. We have a mental health crisis in this Nation. It is particularly poignant for children. It is not under the radar any longer. It is out front. The underlying funding is intended to support mental health clinicians in pediatric primary care to improve care for pediatric patients.

This amendment would eliminate funding for the Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems for maternal delivery and new infant projects to replace and modernize equipment across hospitals with labor and delivery units.

This amendment would eliminate funding for Dartmouth Health to construct a perinatal substance stabilization unit.

Let me repeat: Seattle Children's Hospital, the Ann & Robert Lurie Children's Hospital, Rady's Children's Hospital, maternity delivery units, and a perinatal substance use stabilization unit are all at risk.

I will be clear that this amendment is not limited to children's hospitals. It would eliminate funding to hospitals and healthcare services that serve young adults and adults, as well.

It will eliminate funding to the Denver Health and Hospital Authority for infrastructure to allow the hospital to continue to function as a medical safety net for the Denver community.

It will eliminate funding to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia to purchase modern, diagnostic X-ray technology equipment to strengthen outpatient care.

The list goes on and on and on.

It would also eliminate funding for K-12 education programs, higher education programs, and job training programs.

Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, community projects have been successful. It is Senators and Members of the House talking to their communities about their needs, balancing priorities, advocating for the inclusion of these bills, and delivering for their constituents in a clear and in a transparent way.

That is what we ought to be doing, is delivering for our constituents about the needs that they identify for all of us. I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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