Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009

Floor Speech

OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2009 -- (Senate - March 05, 2009)

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Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I believe women around the world should have access to safe health care that will help them plan their families and stay free of diseases.

These are basic rights. That is why I rise in opposition to the amendment being offered by Senator WICKER to block funding to the United Nations Population Fund.

In the developing world, ``complications from pregnancy'' is still one of the leading causes of death for women.

More than half a million women die each year--one every minute--from preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

Madam President, 201 million women can not get access to safe, modern contraception even w en they want it, and 6,800 new cases of HIV occur every day.

With its mission ``to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect,'' the United Nations Population Fund is working every day to make things better.

For nearly 40 years, UNFPA has provided more than $6 billion in aid to about 150 countries for voluntary family planning and maternal and child health care.

They are helping more women survive childbirth.

They are providing contraceptives to help women plan their families and stay free of HIV/AIDS.

They are promoting access to basic services, including clean water, sanitation facilities, food, and health care for poor women and girls.

Yet Senator WICKER and other supporters of this amendment would deny
women around the world this basic care because they believe misinformation that has been spread by antichoice lobbyists who say this fund would pay for coerced abortions.

The reality is that our government already prohibits any money from being used to fund coerced abortions. And, no U.S. money goes to China.

This bill actually continues that policy.

So all Senator WICKER'S amendment would do is prevent women around the world from getting access to basic health care services--services that we take for granted here in the United States.

All of us would agree that we want to see fewer abortions in the world. I certainly do not condone funding coercive abortion practices in China or anywhere else.

And I cannot accept that we would deny women life-saving care because of a dishonest lobbying campaign.

Not only is contributing to UNFPA the right thing to do--it is in our best interest.

By helping to lift families out of poverty, and slow the spread of disease, we can reduce conflicts and bring stability and hope to some of the most troubled regions in the world.

I am proud that President Obama is pledging to refund UNFPA after the previous administration consistently canceled funding for the agency.

I urge my colleagues to vote down the Wicker amendment.

So let me simply say that I believe that women around the world should have access to safe health care that will help them plan their families and stay free of diseases. These are basic rights, and that is why I oppose the amendment that is being offered by Senator Wicker to block funding to the United Nations Population Fund.

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TRANSPORTATION FUNDING

Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I wish today to engage in a colloquy with my colleague, the Senator from Washington and the chairman of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee. As the chairman is aware, language was included in the explanatory statement accompanying the bill before us to help address an issue that has plagued the Milwaukee area for several years.

Due to a longstanding dispute between city and county officials, unobligated transportation dollars have lost value with each passing year. In an effort to spend down those funds on much needed transit projects, the report resolves this dispute by dividing the funding. I have spoken with Congressman Obey, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, to confirm the intent of the language included in the explanatory statement. I would ask the Senator from Washington, is it your understanding that it is the expectation of both the House and Senate committees that 60 percent of the funding in question should be made available to the city of Milwaukee for a downtown fixed-rail corridor while 40 percent of the funding should be made available to the county of Milwaukee for energy efficient buses?

Mrs. MURRAY. To the Senator from Wisconsin I would say, yes, that is our expectation.

Mr. KOHL. I thank the chairman of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee for her help and for engaging in this colloquy.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, as chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, I rise to clarify an error that we have found in the explanatory materials accompanying H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations Act. Included within the Transportation-Housing Division of the bill is an appropriation of $570,000 within the TCSP program for transportation improvement in the Antelope Valley in Lincoln, NE. The attribution table that accompanies the explanatory statement to the bill inadvertently omits the name of the Senate sponsor of that appropriation. Mr. President, the Senate sponsor of the project is my colleague, Senator BEN NELSON.

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