Interest Rate Reduction Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. The Republican majority in this House is involved in a political shell game on this issue. They have voted to eliminate the prevention and public health fund. They voted 2 days ago to end it. Today they want to tell you they are going to take money from it to pay for student loans. You can't end a fund and then talk about taking money to use it.

In addition to that, the gentleman from California a moment ago talked about money in the appropriations bills for these health care programs.

What he doesn't tell you is that the majority in the committees is voting to cut the money for the Centers for Disease Control, for screenings for breast and cervical cancer, for all of these efforts. They are talking out of both sides of their mouths.

This majority passed a budget that has asked families to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, slashes Pell Grants for nearly 10 million college students, allows interest rates on student loans to double in July. After there was an outpouring of concern about the doubling of interest rates, they switched course. This apparent moment of conscience was too good to be true.

Instead of ending oil subsidies and closing corporate tax loopholes, what they now have done is they eliminate--eliminate--the prevention and public health fund. What that fund does is provide crucial health services to all Americans, including women and children.

Women, I'll be brief in this: it is about providing screenings for breast and cervical cancer. My friends, 4,000 women die every year from cervical cancer. Isn't it worth trying to prevent cervical cancer and not eliminate it? It works to prevent coronary heart disease, the leading killer of women in America. It has the potential to mitigate osteoporosis, arthritis, and mental illness, all conditions which disproportionately affect the women in this Nation.

This fund is about the giving of life. There is a level of hypocrisy on this floor that is staggering. Instead of taking the money from health care for education, a false choice, vote against this bill.

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