Dick Durbin: “I say to my colleagues, be prepared. This is the first of the across-the-board cut amendments. As good as it sounds…”

“I say to my colleagues, be prepared. This is the first of the across-the-board cut amendments. As good as it sounds, afterschool programs, this is what this little cut will cost. It will deny 92 grants for research at the National Institutes of Health, it will take 1,134 kids out of the Head Start Program, it will mean 6,494 households will not be served by LIHEAP, and 403,000 meals for seniors will not be served. This is a get-well amendment for many of our colleagues who have consistently voted against these education programs. Please, as good as it sounds, don't cut these valuable resources for NIH and other education programs to fund the afterschool programs as suggested by the Senator from Nevada.”