Cord Byrd: “Last July, almost 4 months ago, the Senate Appropriations Committee completed action on all 13 of our appropriations…”

“Last July, almost 4 months ago, the Senate Appropriations Committee completed action on all 13 of our appropriations bills, each on a bipartisan unanimous vote. These bills restored essential funding for programs that the administration proposed to cut. We provided $1.1 billion more than the President requested for veterans medical care. We restored the $8.6 billion cut proposed by the President in highway funding. The President proposed only a 1-percent increase for education programs. He would turn the No Child Left Behind bill into another unfunded mandate. Our bill would have provided a 6-percent increase for education, including key funding to reduce class size. We included sufficient funding to keep Amtrak operating. We restored over $1 billion of cuts that the President proposed for State and local law enforcement programs. We fully funded the President's proposed increases for homeland security programs, but we provided the funds through existing programs that our nation's fire and police organizations support. We provided a significant increase for the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to investigate corporate fraud. We provided $400 million for election reform.”