David Price: “I am proud to support this conference report. As a new member of this subcommittee, I am grateful to both the gentleman…”

“I am proud to support this conference report. As a new member of this subcommittee, I am grateful to both the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] and the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Stokes] for their evenhanded bipartisan work in putting together this difficult piece of legislation. The bill has broad support from both parties and in both Chambers. In numerous ways this conference report addresses our Nation's critical priorities. For example, the report increases the appropriation for veterans' medical care to $17.7 billion, higher than either House initially approved, with $600 million coming from medical care cost recovery sources. The report increases funding for the HOME program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to $1.5 billion, $109 million above last year's level. The HOME program allows those providing affordable housing to use Federal block grants to leverage private sector money with a minimum of unnecessary regulation. It is an efficient and a practical way to open up homeownership to thousands of Americans. I am pleased that in a tight budget year we were able to find additional resources for HOME. Funding for the EPA at a level of $7.4 billion is more than $500 million above the fiscal 1997 level. The budget for EPA includes $3 million for research and monitoring of Pfiesteria, an environmental threat that even now, the full dimensions of that threat are not known to us.”