Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment No. 62 Offered by Ms. Boebert

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I congratulate Chairman Aderholt on his first bill as chairman of the subcommittee. I thank the minority staff--particularly Stephen Steigleder, Philip Tizzani, Laurie Mignone, and Jackie Kilroy--for all of their hard work, as well as the majority staff, Susan Ross, Kathryn Salmon, James Redstone, Emily Goff, and Laura Stagno. As I have often said, they keep our names on the door, so many thanks to all. Mr. Chair, I have never seen an appropriations bill quite like this one. I have never seen a bill that was this inhumane and which defies all the values and ideals of a society which promises to address the needs and the challenges of its people. In Charles Dickens' ``Great Expectations,'' Pip observes the Pocket family children as ``not growing up or being brought up, but were tumbling up.'' This bill leaves America's children tumbling up. This bill is the largest domestic appropriations bill, and for good reason. The programs funded in Labor-HHS-Education ensure that our workforce is strong, our families are healthy and safe, and our children's future is secure. Indeed, last Congress, we passed a Labor-HHS bill that supported middle-class working families, lifted up vulnerable Americans, and prepared our Nation for future crises, which makes it even more disappointing to see where we have ended up in this year's process. The majority's 2024 Labor-HHS-Education bill and its 28 percent cut of $64 billion bring us back to a level unseen since 2008. It heralds their intent to end public education in the United States. This bill eliminates present and future job opportunities for young adults, seniors, and working families. It jeopardizes maternal, pediatric, and public health. This bill is shameful, which is presumably the reason why it was never marked up or voted on by the full Appropriations Committee. As disappointed as I am to see the authority of the Appropriations Committee surrendered, sadly, based on where the majority has taken this entire process, it is not surprising. Mr. Chair, 154 days ago, the House Appropriations Committee held its first full committee markup of the 2024 bill. Nine more followed. This bill was not one of them. Nonetheless, the House majority circumvented the committee process. They air-dropped five new poison pill riders into the Labor-HHS bill without any bipartisan consultation or vote by the committee. We are left to assume that the majority knew this bill had no path forward in committee, and they know it has no path forward, period. Horace Mann called education ``the great equalizer.'' Perhaps, then, it is the majority's aversion to equality that explains why they cut 28 percent from the Department of Education. They will take at least 224,000 teachers out of low-income classrooms and eviscerate the programs that help at-risk youth build a bright future. This cut would entail a loss of 3,700 teachers in Alabama, 800 teachers in Idaho, 4,400 teachers in Maryland, 4,300 teachers in Tennessee, 6,500 teachers in Michigan, 5,000 teachers in Louisiana, 8,300 teachers in Georgia, 1,500 teachers in Kansas, 22,300 teachers in Texas, and 4,400 teachers in Arizona. Explain that to your constituents. I am deeply concerned about the impact such a colossal retraction from public education funding would have on children across our country. This bill tells the story of where the majority seeks to take this country. Republicans have made it clear they are opposed to public education, and they seek to destroy it. Quality education will no longer be accessible to working families, but it will be accessible, again, to the purview of the rich. I must underscore that point. This is no messaging bill. This is their Commitment to America. I am taking Republicans at their word, as should all American people. This is what they want to do. When 161 House Republicans voted earlier this year to eliminate all K-12 funding at the Department of Education in the Massie amendment to H.R. 5, I was horrified, but that was only the beginning. House Republicans are in lockstep behind the most extreme ideologues in their party. Just this summer, former Secretary Betsy DeVos penned an op-ed calling to eliminate the Department of Education. The Heritage Foundation's budget blueprint includes a proposal to eliminate the Department of Education. Former OMB Director Russ Vought wants massive funding reductions to ``thwart'' a public education system he sees as ``an existential threat to the American Republic.'' We are witnessing a widespread attack on public education that should shock every American family. If left to their own devices, Republicans will gleefully take public education to the graveyard. How will this bill move us closer toward those ends? English language acquisition funding to help 5 million English learners nationwide is eliminated, disadvantaging and discriminating against students who primarily speak another language and restraining their future ability to compete and succeed in the economy. Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants, which provide professional development opportunities for educators, are completely gone. Federal work-study is no more for the 660,000 students who need it to help finance their postsecondary education. It limits their potential earnings and future success in the job market. Nearly $1 billion is cut from the supplemental educational opportunity grants, which eliminate need-based financial aid for 1.7 million students nationwide. Promise Neighborhoods, social and emotional learning grants, and magnet schools are all completely erased, as well. The programs that are not completely abolished in this bill are so poorly funded as to be completely nonfunctional. A $14.7 billion cut from title I, the very foundation of public education in America, is patently unthinkable and would remove hundreds of thousands of teachers from classrooms, directly harming children in every single one of our districts. Students nationwide are struggling with rising college costs, and this bill provides no relief by freezing the maximum Pell grant for the first time in 12 years. I believe we all agree that we have a crisis in our Nation's classrooms, but rather than address the teacher shortage and fully fund our children's future, our Nation's future, the majority's solution is to abolish the public classroom altogether. If you cannot afford a private education for your children, well, too bad. This is the every child left behind act. Regardless of your age or stage in life, this bill means you can't count on your country for assistance in getting back on your feet. Youth job training, adult job training, Job Corps, and senior community service employment programs are all eliminated. If you want to work and just need help finding the right job or finding a better job, this bill has nothing to offer you. They are putting workers who do find jobs at risk by cutting $313 million for worker protection agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The 30 percent cut to the Wage and Hour Division, the agency that is tasked with enforcing wage law and ensuring that our children are not working illegally, will send the rights of workers in this country back to a time before World War II. This bill hangs working families out to dry. Healthy Start, diaper distribution, teen pregnancy prevention, title X family planning--all abolished. With riders that block access to abortions and reproductive healthcare services and force providers to withhold critical information about healthcare options, it is clear in this area that the majority does not trust women to make their own decisions, and where they are taking us is moving down a road to a nationwide abortion ban. These provisions amount to the majority simultaneously ensuring anyone who may get pregnant will get pregnant, teenagers included, and there are no resources or lifelines available to help those children and their families. People can only hope that they do not get cancer. You will not find support from House Republicans. From the National Institutes of Health, over $2 billion is cut from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are as outrageous as they are dangerous. Firearm injury prevention, tobacco prevention, and ending the HIV epidemic, which, by the way, was an initiative of President Donald Trump, Republicans have decided that addressing these problems is not worth a single dollar to the American people. What should we be doing if not combating the leading causes of death in this country? What should we fund if not the health and future of America's families? Supporting our children and working families is the bare minimum of what the greatest country in the world should do for its people, but this bill goes well below the bare minimum. This bill steals from our children's future, from our families' health, and from Americans' livelihood. It abandons young adults. It stifles biomedical innovation. It surrenders to current and future public health crises. It hurts women with poison pill riders on abortion. Mr. Chair, for these reasons, I vehemently oppose this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the distinguished ranking member of the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Lee), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for her strong voice, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It is incredulous the scope of this bill and its damage to the American people, their healthcare, their education, and their opportunity for a job and their future. Just quickly, in the Department of Labor: Adult Job Training; Youth Job Training; Job Corps; Senior Community Service Employment; the Bureau of International Labor Affairs; the Women's Bureau, the Women's Bureau that helps women find jobs in nontraditional areas, these are all eliminated. They are eliminated. Let's go now to the Department of Health and Human Services: Title X Family Planning; Healthy Start; Ryan White Ending the HIV Epidemic, something that George Bush and Donald Trump wanted to provide funding for, eliminated. Nursing Workforce Diversity. We have a shortage of nurses today. We need to be recruiting and training nurses to be able to take care of patients, to be able to administer healthcare. I always classify nurses as angels of mercy. They were with me every single day when I was in the hospital a number of years ago for a period of time. The doctors could look at me, they did great surgery, but it was the nurses who looked at me, and they could tell whether it was a good day or a bad day, and they were there for comfort and care. But, no, we don't want to train and recruit nurses. The CDC, Tobacco Prevention and Control--my God, we have gone to such an extent to really cut back on addiction and not to make kids addicted in our country. Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention. This is research and the same kind of research we did with regard to understanding how good seatbelts were and how they could save people. This is not taking anyone's gun away. This is about public health, but, no, that is eliminated. Global HIV/AIDS, the CDC's contribution to PEPFAR--launched by George Bush--all eliminated. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, Minority AIDS. My God, we are suffering a mental health crisis in this country, but, no, the Republicans would eliminate that. Preschool Development Grants, Adult Protective Services Formula Grants, all eliminated. Now, the Department of Education. Effective Instruction State Grants, eliminated. Social and Emotional Learning, eliminated. Civics--we find today that young people, older people, don't know anything about the American government. They don't know who does what at local, State, or federal. They don't engage in a dialogue with one another so that you can get to some sort of a rapprochement, understand what is being done in government. No, Republicans don't want a literate society, so let's eliminate civics. Magnet Schools Assistance, Promise Neighborhoods, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. My God, the kids who need financial assistance. Federal Work-Study, let me mention that one, because today, working families, middle-class families, vulnerable families, are having a tough time. They are going paycheck to paycheck. Yeah, you know what? They want their kids to go to school to get an education. You know what? Their kids are willing to work. They will go to the library. They will do those jobs with the Federal Work-Study Program. When I talk about Republicans wanting to eliminate public education, this is a very good example, because you cut off the opportunity for that child to be able to work and to help his parents support him in getting an education. Who are we and what are we about with this bill? I could go on, but what would be the point? That is what this bill is about. As I said, it is not a messaging bill. This is where the majority wants to take us. They want to eliminate public education in this Nation. I come from an immigrant family whose parents could dare dream their daughter serves in the United States House of Representatives. I can hear, day in and day out, my folks who have now passed who said: Get an education. Get an education. They sacrificed for that education, and we have a majority of this body who wants to take it away. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the amendments en bloc, and in support of the amendment with regard to the CDC ALS registry, which increases the funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, Registry. I cannot talk about ALS without acknowledging the remarkable Ady Barkan, who died earlier this month. ALS is a cruel disease. Ady and Brian Wallach, who continues his own battle against ALS, are two of the amazing advocates who are changing the face of medical advocacy in this country. I support this amendment in their honor. The ALS Registry collects and analyzes information about persons with ALS in the United States. It advances our understanding of the disease. With approximately 30,000 participants, the ALS Registry has provided crucial information to guide future research. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise to support another amendment in the en bloc. This is the Congressman Gottheimer's amendment with regard to safe school drinking water. I rise in support of the amendment, and I thank the Representative for sponsoring the amendment and allowing this time to talk about the importance of safe drinking water at schools. Children are more susceptible to lead exposure because their bodies are still rapidly developing. Approximately 400,000 schools and childcare centers are served by a lead service line or pipes and other fixtures. Let me be clear. There is no amount of lead that can be tolerated in the body. We know what happened in Flint, Michigan. Thousands of children were lead poisoned. I met most recently with medical staff who was trying to work with these children, because of their brain, their slow development, et cetera, all as a result of a political decision allowing for the contamination of water with lead and lead poisoning so many thousands of children in Flint, Michigan. That is why clean and safe drinking water at schools is so critically important. That is our responsibility. The CDC funding allows health departments to develop partnerships with schools, daycare facilities, and early childhood education centers to strengthen blood lead testing reporting and link lead-exposed children to recommended services. The earlier they get their services, the more likely they are to be able to grow and thrive. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this en bloc amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. Again, public servants should be commended and not demonized. Our Federal Government needs talented, intelligent, hardworking people who are willing to bring their skills to public service. Proposing to eliminate the salaries of hardworking public servants is petty, and it is, yes, beneath the dignity of this body. It is not how we should solve differences of opinion on policy. I suspect that folks could challenge Members of Congress on their views and opinions, yet they don't have the ability to threaten our livelihoods. Maybe they should have the ability to threaten our livelihoods. Proposing to eliminate the salaries of hardworking public servants is really a stain on this institution. I know Secretary Cardona well. Secretary Cardona is well known for a career as an educator with a passion and dedication to students and teachers and a commitment that has now been on full display nationally. When he first joined the Department, students and families were facing unprecedented change and disruption to their education. With his leadership and investments made by Congress over the past several years, including the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, schools now have the resources to strengthen teaching and learning in our classrooms. Under his leadership, schools can better support student academic recovery, address mental health needs, and tackle nationwide teacher shortages. Those are the issues. We need his steady leadership at the helm of a vital agency that oversees our investments, our Federal investments, in public education. Let me take a second to make a comment, Madam Chair. We are now less than 4 days away from a government shutdown. Instead of focusing on keeping our government open, we are working on a bill that is going nowhere. This is a bridge to nowhere, for sure. The harmful funding cuts proposed in this bill and the ugly amendments that demean this body and this institution are on full view. This is not regular order. What we should be doing now is to have the allocations for each of the appropriations subcommittees. We should do what was agreed to by the former Speaker of the House in a budget agreement. We should be moving toward passing appropriations bills that will provide the services and resources to the American public in agriculture, education, health, and transportation. We should be dealing with the issues of national security that face us today. We should be dealing with the international crises that face us today, which are going begging, about which we are doing nothing. This is an unbelievable waste of time and an exercise in futility with the overview of an ugliness that, once again, demeans this institution. This is the Congress of the United States. We are here tonight introducing petty and vindictive amendments that demean the individuals who hold these positions and once again demean the dignity, the stature of the United States House of Representatives. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this vindictive amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I continue to oppose this amendment, and I say to my colleague just keep your head in the sand. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. I am opposed to the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.