OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Insular Areas and Freely Associated States Energy Development

Floor Speech

Date: Dec. 11, 2014
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Finance and Banking Energy

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, as ranking member of the Labor, Health and
Human Services Subcommittee, I worked hard on this portion of the
legislation, and there are some real bright spots.

But our problem is simple. The resources provided in this bill are
not adequate to tackle the challenges middle class families face every
day. The bill does not keep pace with inflation. It continues to
underfund some of our Nation's highest priorities: education, health
care, medical research, and job training.

However, there are many more troubling aspects of this bill. The
Department of Homeland Security is only funded for 9 weeks. Why?
Because the majority disagrees with the President on immigration.
Holding up full-year funding for national security over an immigration
disagreement is a game that poses a serious risk to our border, our
Secret Service, and our ability to respond to natural disasters.

The bill gambles with our financial system. It would reverse Dodd-
Frank safeguards, allow banks to engage in some of Wall Street's
riskiest transactions, the same transactions that caused a crisis in
which millions of hardworking Americans lost their jobs, their homes,
and their savings. Why? Why would we want to put families at risk once
again? Public funds should be used to protect our families, not to prop
up casino banking.

This bill threatens injustice to millions of seniors. It allows
pension funds to reduce benefits to current retirees.

They worked hard for their retirement. They earned it. Would we want
to put their economic security in jeopardy?

Finally, the bill seeks to overturn some of the last remaining
campaign finance laws, as if they were not generous enough. The
American public is angry about a government that responds to the
highest bidder.

The majority's dangerous games benefit big corporations and the
wealthy at the expense of working families and seniors, and I urge my
colleagues to vote against this bill.

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