Earl Blumenauer: “the fiscal year 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill is one of the…”

“the fiscal year 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill is one of the most important bills for shaping our domestic priorities. Unfortunately the bill before this Congress imposes draconian cuts to the essential services that Americans rely on everyday. The $1.2 billion cuts spread throughout these agencies will be devastating to the future of our Nation. I am astonished to see that the Department of Education will see its smallest increase in a decade, which comes at a time when school districts across the Nation are struggling to come up with adequate funding to address the unfunded mandates of President Bush's No Child Left Behind. This is the wrong kind of message to be sending to our children and teachers. The one positive point during this debate was the passage of the amendment to restore the $100 million cut to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This vote signaled the bipartisan support that can be rallied to overrule the ideologically driven agenda of some in Congress. Millions of people across the country contacted Congress this week in support of CPB and the overwhelming vote in favor of the amendment to restore funding (284-140, 87 Republican and every Democrat in support) is an indication of the more reasonable approach the country expects from Congress. Unfortunately, this bill eliminates 48 programs and slashes funding for critical programs across the country.…”