The McCaul Minute

Press Release

Dear Friends,

Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Amendment

As co-chair of the House Pediatric Cancer Caucus, I joined my fellow co-chair
Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA) to request full funding for the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act earlier this year. I was the lead cosponsor of this important legislation which passed unanimously in the House and was signed in to law. When the authorized amount was not provided, I offered an amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act in an effort to obtain this much needed funding. Unfortunately, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, David Obey (D-WI) blocked its passage even though the amendment had
broad bipartisan support.

Although the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act was not fully funded, my efforts helped secure $10 million in funding for childhood cancer research. However, it represents only one third of the $30 million needed to fully fund a life-saving program that passed the Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support.

This is a partial victory. Rest assured, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring full funding to authorized levels for the most precious resource we have in this countryour children- to protect them from cancer.

H.R. 2920 - The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act

This week, the House passed H.R. 2920, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act. I support Pay-As-You-Go if it were offset by cuts in spending. However, the reality is this bill will result in more tax increases so I voted against it. This bill makes it harder to maintain tax cuts that exist under current law. Of note, the capital gains and dividend tax cuts and the lower 35% income tax rate. Under current budget policies, as outlined in the President's budget, the public debt will double in five years and triple in ten years. All of this increase in the debt, an amount that exceeds what has been racked up by every prior Administration in U.S. history--is permissible under this bill.

Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act

On Thursday, the House passed the Transportation, Housing, and Urban
Development Appropriations Act. This bill perpetuates the trend of overspending we have seen in Washington, by providing a total funding level of $68.8 billion, which is $13.8 billion or 25.1% more than last year. The funding for programs under this bill comes on top of $65.6 billion of emergency-designated spending in FY 2009. I voted against this bill because it provides for astronomical increases in spending during a time of economic hardship.

Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Act

On Friday, the House passed the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act. The bill provides a total funding level in FY 2010 of $163.4 billion, which is $11.1 billion or 7.3% more than last year. The funding for programs under this bill comes on top of $137.0 billion of emergency-designated spending in FY 2009.

I supported an amendment offered by Representative Wittman to reduce
appropriations in the bill by $803,270,000.

We continue to look for employers interested in participating in the Job Fair hosted by Congressman McCaul. The Job Fair will feature employers from across the district, state, and nation. Twenty-five employers, listing close to 1,000 job openings, have already registered. The deadline to register is August 7th. If you are an employer looking for workers, please download the registration form from our website or contact our Austin district office at (512) 473-2357.

With best regards,

Michael T. McCaul
Member of Congress

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