Nita Lowey

While one side is seeking to slash the most important student financial aid program, the other is prioritizing initiatives to further educate students.

Frankly, when President Obama talked about winning the future, Madam Secretary, to me there is nothing more important than investing in the National Institutes of Health.

I hope we can correct it as the negotiations go on--the NIH spending is being cut by 5 percent.

I just fundamentally believe our schools should be open 12, 13, 14 hours a day, with a wide variety of after-school programming.

I strongly support after-school education. And I am appreciative of the $100 million increase you proposed for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program.

So that is why I voted against the CR, Mr. Chair, because I am very concerned that it would cut 5 percent.

How can I go to community college? How can I afford to even go there?

I really want to thank you for that, and we are on yellow.

If they lose $845 dollars--many of them are first generation--they can't go to mom or pop and say, 'Can you help me?'

I want to congratulate you on requesting $500,000,000 for the Community College and Career Training Grant Program.

It is really shocking that more than 50 percent of American workers do not have one paid day if they are sick.

I want them to stay off the chopping block.

We cannot expect to grow our economy by taking away the services that our constituents use to get back to work.

But overall, I felt we had to start and try and work in a bipartisan way, and I do want to work together with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

And I just want to say at the outset that we all believe in the need for fiscal restraint and that the deficit is out of control.

We have to ensure that our trading partners enforce the labor rights provisions of their own laws, as well as our trade agreements, to protect our workforce.

I want to thank you for your service, and I would like to highlight your request for an increase of $8,800,000 for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs efforts on behalf of worker rights.

I don't know how we can achieve the goal of leading the world in college completion by 2020, if the cuts to the Pell program in H.R. 1 were to become law.

Nowhere is this more evident than the shortage of nurses and nurse faculty.

I am very pleased that the administration proposed to increase funding for Pell. This is a perfect example of contrasting priorities.

Let me make it clear that in my view the deeply flawed House-passed 7-month continuing resolution would slash Pell Grants by more than $3,000,000,000.

Where would they get the financing? If we want them to stay in school, and my colleagues respectfully asked the questions, what else should they turn to?

I would just say to my colleagues that to me, the most important thing is helping our young people get that education.

We can think of many other places, I am sure you can, many other subsidies, many other places where we can find the money.

If we want to create jobs, if we believe that education has some role in creating jobs, which I do, then I would not want to be the Congress, again only one other Congress went down $100. But for us to reduce it by $845 is really a shame…