John Conyers: “colleagues, appropriations bills are moral statements. They document the direction that we as a Congress desire our…”

“colleagues, appropriations bills are moral statements. They document the direction that we as a Congress desire our Nation to go. With our vote on H.R. 3043 today, we once again have an opportunity to show Americans that the 110th Congress is committed to taking our Nation in a New Direction--putting the needs of the American people first and making long-delayed investments in our future. Unfortunately, this commitment to improving the lives of our soldiers, veterans and ordinary Americans seems not to be shared by the President. The Administration apparently feels that while it is necessary to spend $12 billion a month in Iraq, the Federal Year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill is just $9.8 billion too expensive and needs to be vetoed. He believes that an extra $10 billion to provide grants to low-income children for after school programs, increasing the purchasing power of Pell Grants, fund job training programs for dislocated workers and helping families facing rising energy prices with the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is just wasteful spending. The President, in an attempt to burnish his credentials as a bona fide fiscal conservative, now seems to know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.”