On the recordDecember 16, 2011
I come to make a few remarks about the 2012 omnibus appropriations conference report just passed and about one part of that report that has no place in any conference report or in any House appropriations bill. I refer, of course, to the part of that report called the D.C. appropriations bill. First, for all of the contention in this Congress, as we look at the 2012 omnibus appropriations, there is certainly much for Democrats to be relieved about. There was a wholesale attack in the beginning of this Congress on everything from education to clean energy. But in the end, because Democrats know how to fight for what the American people tell them to fight for, health care reform was saved. Wall Street reform was saved. Clean energy was saved. Job training was saved. NPR, National Public Radio, was not defunded. Planned Parenthood, which offers reproductive services throughout our country, was not defunded. And Title X family planning was not defunded. The National Labor Relations Board can continue on with its rules concerning union elections. And these are only some of the many ingredients in this omnibus report that led Democrats to vote for it because it contained much for them to be proud of. Yes, in the give and take of appropriations, the kind of give and take there should have been more of during this Congress, there were some things in this appropriations bill for the Nation that I do not support and that generally Democrats do not support.…
