Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the FY08 Labor/HHS & Education Appropriations bill. I want to commend the Chairman and the staff for an excellent bill which signals a new direction and reflects our priorities as a Nation.

The goal of this bill has always been to make a strong investment in our future--to take seriously our responsibility to the American public, on the issues that affect people every day from our health to our children's education to the scientific research that will find the cures of tomorrow, from protecting workers to providing the training they need to make it in today's economy. I must say that this time around, our bill does not disappoint.

To help States serve 6.8 million unemployed and 13 million jobseekers, the bill provides a $227.4 million or 1.9 percent increase over fiscal year 2007 for employment, training, and worker protection programs. On worker protection, the bill provides a $45.5 million increase to key programs to improving safety and health for 113 million workers.

On education, the bill provides historic increases in No Child Left Behind, 8.4 percent above 2007, including $1.9 billion more for Title I grants to schools. For students with disabilities, the President's budget proposed to cut IDEA Part B grants by $291 million or 2.7 percent below the fiscal year 2007 level. In contrast, this bill provides a $299 million or a 2.8 percent increase over last year. More importantly, this bill reverses a 2-year decline in the federal contribution toward the rising costs of special education for 6.9 million children with disabilities.

It also makes real progress toward college affordability with a significant increase in Pell Grants, allowing us to raise the maximum Pell Grant by $390 to $4,700 and benefiting over 5.5 million students without reducing or eliminating other student financial assistance programs.

In the area of medical research, the bill provides continued investment at the NIH and CDC for innovative programs that save lives. With a $750 million increase over last year, NIH will be able to support another 545 new and competing research grants over last year's level and 1,262 over the President's request.

The bill also provides much-needed investments in programs that support low income people: An increase of $500.8 million or 23.2 percent above last year for LIHEAP to secure energy assistance for approximately 1 million more low-income seniors and families than last year. $660.4 million for the Community Services Block Grant allowing states to expand critical services, such as housing, home weatherization, parenting education, adult literacy classes, and emergency food assistance. And a down payment of $75 million or 3.6 percent in child care assistance, the first increase in discretionary spending for this program in more than five years.

Mr. Chairman, this bill reflects a real commitment to our longstanding responsibilities and true fiscal responsibility. Each of us should support the FY08 Labor/HHS & Education bill--a bill each of us can take home and proudly share with our constituents.

We will accomplish a lot of good with this bill, but I especially want to highlight and commend Chairman OBEY, for the ``Reducing the Need for Abortion Initiative'' included in the bill, which parallels legislation spearheaded by Representative RYAN and myself.

With close to $650 million in increased funding over last year and approximately $1.4 billion for programs such as Title X, Healthy Start, teen pregnancy prevention, adoption awareness, after school programs, and child care programs for new parents attending college, just to name a few, we are promoting policies so critical to reducing the need for abortion in this country.

This bold initiative represents a considerable investment in preventing unintended pregnancies and supporting new parents. It is strong on prevention, strong on family income supports, and it makes clear that we are serious about addressing the issue of abortion head on. That, for all of us, it is a matter of conscience.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I am proud to be a Member of this subcommittee, its Members, and the work we have done this year. With this bill, we make opportunity real for millions of Americans and we give people the tools they need to grow and thrive tomorrow.

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