Patrick Leahy: “Senator Gregg and I did, of course, do our best to address the many requests we received. We have made some difficult…”

“Senator Gregg and I did, of course, do our best to address the many requests we received. We have made some difficult choices. The bill contains a total of $34.4 billion in budget authority. The President has threatened to veto all appropriations bills that are above his budget request. This bill is $700 million below the President's budget request. In case anybody did not hear that, it is $700 million below the President's budget request. We have a significant increase for State Department and U.S. Embassy operations and security costs. We provide $1.35 billion for assessed contributions to international peacekeeping missions. These are peacekeeping missions the U.S. Government has voted for in Sudan, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, and other nations. We provide $5.09 billion to combat HIV/AIDS. That is $940 million above the President's request but within the overall budget limits. This includes $590 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Added to the $300 million in the Labor, Health and Human Services bill, it is a total of $890 million for the Global Fund, an increase of $166 above last year's budget. The bill contains $476.5 million for Child Survival and Maternal Health. These programs address the most basic public health needs in the world's poorest countries. In our country, we are blessed with so many riches. For a child born here, almost always maternal health care and child health care is available.”