Mike Levin: “they say that in politics, where you stand depends on where you sit. But the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill the…”

“they say that in politics, where you stand depends on where you sit. But the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill the Republican leadership has brought to the floor looks bad from every seat in the House. The bill fails our kids. It would undo the progress we've made toward improving the quality of education for every child by eliminating funding for the President's plan to hire 100,000 teachers, a plan we made a bipartisan down payment on last year. It would also force our children and teachers to continue working in overcrowded schools with leaky roofs and crumbling buildings, because this bill provides no funding for the President's school construction initiative. Finally, it provides ten percent less funding than the President requested for Head Start, guaranteeing that we will not be able to provide preschool education to all children who need it. The bill fails families. The Baby Boomers are often called the ``sandwich generation'' because they often have to care for their children and their elderly parents. This bill fails those caregivers at both ends. It denies funding for the Family Caregiver Program, which provides support for 250,000 Americans who care for elderly or disabled relatives at home. It also cuts in half the President's increase in funding for child care, which will prevent 80,000 eligible families from getting help with child care. The bill fails senior citizens. This bill short-changes important senior programs like Meals-on-Wheels.”