Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1, which cuts the heart out of safety net programs which sustain and help sustain the most economically challenged and most vulnerable individuals and families in our society.

Of particular concern to me are the maternal and child health programs, Community Development Block Grants, cuts to legal assistance services, education and training, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, and others which sustain the most vulnerable, the most disadvantaged, the most disjointed, and, in many instances, the most helpless and the most hopeless members of our society.

I am obviously concerned about health services in a real sense, because if you have all of these other problems and then you are sick on top of it and have no way of taking care of yourself, then you have no way of addressing the other needs that you have.

I have been involved with health services for more than 40 years, and I have had a good look at what we call Community Health Centers, which have become to me the most effective way of providing quality health care to large numbers of low-income people in this country.

When we talk about cutting over $1 billion to Community Health Centers, we are talking about ending funding for 127 new centers in underserved areas across the country. It means ending funding of Increased Demand for Services, or IDS grants, which have allowed health centers to expand to serve 3.3 million new patients in the last year and a half.

These cuts would raise costs in the Medicaid program and overall general health care services to the country. As a result, patients would lose access to primary care, to a regular doctor, and seek care for nonemergency health situations by using hospital emergency rooms, which would cost the country billions of dollars and continue to increase high-cost health care to our economy.

If these cuts go through, it would have an additive effect to the States that are cutting nearly $90 million in financial support to health centers due to their own fiscal crises, therefore leaving health centers with no way to continue to serve their existing patients.

Community Health Centers provide high quality health care and they do it cost-effectively and efficiently. In the State of Illinois, in 2008, 40 of these centers operated over 350 sites, contributed almost $1 billion to the Illinois economy and directly employed almost 6,000 individuals. For every 10 people employed by an Illinois health center, an additional four jobs were created in their surrounding communities. These programs served over 1.1 million patients, nearly 80 percent of whom all fell below the Federal poverty level and 30 percent of whom had no health insurance at all. Without these cuts, these centers can continue to operate and provide services.

I say let's not be what my mother used to call penny wise and pound foolish. It might look like we are saving, but every time we take care of one's health, we are making an investment.

I urge that we reject these cuts.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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