Ellen Tauscher: “Mr. Speaker, the funding level in the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill is woefully insufficient. It fails to meet…”

“Mr. Speaker, the funding level in the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill is woefully insufficient. It fails to meet the needs of school, and our children will end up paying the price. While the majority has talked again and again about reforming and improving education, they have not provided the funds to do so. This bill underfunds Impact Aid for school districts that are serving our military families in this country by $583 million that are required by the No Child Left Behind Act. It is irresponsible to take credit for passing the No Child Left Behind Act, but then refuse to provide the money to fund the programs, especially to the level that Congress and the President committed to just 2 years ago. There are thousands of men and women from my district at Travis Air Force Base who deserve to have better schools for their children while they are fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom. They deserve a top-notch education for their kids. I urge my colleagues to oppose the rule for the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill and demand that we fully fund Impact Aid.”