Patty Murray: “to keep America strong, we need to keep our families and communities strong. That is why I am very concerned about the…”

“to keep America strong, we need to keep our families and communities strong. That is why I am very concerned about the fiscal year 2006 Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill. The Senate is scheduled to take up the final conference agreement on this bill, and it is bad news for the American people. This bill is filled with the wrong priorities for our country. If we pass this bill as a result, it will tear apart what is left of America's health care safety net and provide fewer investments in education and workforce training. Instead of investing here at home--in our people, our children, and our communities--this bill will move us in the wrong direction and will undermine America's strength. If we can rebuild schools and hospitals in Iraq out of emergency funding, why can't we provide the resources our own communities need here at home? We know that rebuilding safe and stable communities in Iraq requires investments in education, training, and health care. And the same is true in communities across America. If we want to be strong here at home, we need to invest here at home, but this falls far short of what we need. That is really a disappointment because this bill is the most direct tool we have each year to improve the health and education of the American people. More than any other appropriations bill, the Labor-HHS bill directly impacts almost every family and every community. This is a bill that funds all of the Federal commitment on education.…”