Nita Lowey

Mrs. LOWEY

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I am sure that the remaining speakers who are going to speak on the gentleman's generous time would clarify the issues, so that I have confidence that he would want to continue to yield the time to them. I know that our distinguished Member, the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Mrs. Johnson], would like to speak, and we have a few speakers here to share my 1 additional minute.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Woolsey]. (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi], a member of the committee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Kildee], the distinguished ranking member from the authorizing committee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 15 seconds, just to respond to our distinguished chairman, although I agree with the gentleman that consolidation of programs when it makes sense is a good idea. Whenever we can save money in administration, I think it is a good idea. But this happens to be a jewel of a program, if we can target money to specific programs that are known to work effectively. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella], my distinguished cochair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in very strong support of the Obey amendment to maintain our commitment to our Nation's children, workers, and our schools. Mr. Chairman, the spending bill we are debating today provides insufficient funding for title I math and English instruction, Safe and Drug-Free Schools, and Head Start. When we consider that school enrollment will increase by 44,000 in New York State alone and that even modest inflation will mean higher costs everywhere, level funding is simply not good enough. This bill also completely eliminates funding for Goals 2000, provides no new funds for the Perkins Loan program that helps families send their kids to college, and that is just not acceptable. Mr. Chairman, what will this bill mean? New York City will need an additional $4.5 million in title I funds to provide remedial math and English instruction to their students. Under this bill, they just will not get it. More than 6,000 students and 260 teachers will be cut from the program under this bill next year alone. What is worse, if we follow the Republican budget resolution through the year 2002, 41,000 fewer students will receive title I instruction and 1,600 fewer teachers will be funded in New York City. Overall, the Republican budget resolution cuts funding for education and training by several hundred million dollars by 2002. The Obey amendment would add $450 million to title I and bring funding up to the level requested by the President in his 6-year balanced budget plan. Under the amendment, over 100,000 students who would have lost remedial help can continue to receive it. An additional 250,000 to 300,000 disadvantaged students would receive the help they so desperately need. Mr. Chairman, we are all concerned that American students have fallen behind their peers in other countries in math and science. To help push our students to the head of the world's class, the Obey amendment provides an additional $230 million for math and science professional development. This funding is crucial to help train teachers to prepare our students for the technical demands of the 21st century. Mr. Chairman, I remember when I was in college and there was a great rush to catch up with Sputnik and there was a big move to invest in math and science, and we did so. There was a tremendous effort to invest in math and science at the time, and we made a real difference in our schools. Well, we need to do that again. This amendment restores funding to the Goals 2000 program to ensure that our schools are prepared for the 21st century. In 1996, New York State received $25 million in Goals 2000 funds to help establish and meet challenging academic standards. Some in this Chamber may argue that schools do not see Goals 2000 money. However, 90 percent of Goals 2000 money that went to new York this year will reach local schools, 90 percent. So make no mistake about it, eliminating Goals 2000 will mean $22 million less to local schools in New York State, and that would be wrong. In addition, this amendment adds $70 million for Head Start. That means 15,000 more slots in a program that ensures that young children will be ready to learn when they enter school. As written, this bill will deny Perkins loans to thousands of needy college students. This amendment restores $93 million for the Perkins Loan Program, enough to restore Perkins loans to 96,000 needy students who want desperately to achieve the American dream.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the chairman for his dedication to eradicate domestic violence, and his commitment to fully fund these programs. Under his leadership we will have a program that truly assures that victims of domestic violence will receive the services they desperately need.

Mrs. LOWEY. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I would like to enter into a colloquy with the chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter]. I would say to the chairman, over the years he has been a strong supporter of the efforts to end domestic violence in this Nation. His commitment in the issue is reflected in his support of the Violence Against Women Act programs in the bill. He has committed all of the funds allocated to this subcommittee from the violent crime reduction trust fund to these crucial programs. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, these programs are not yet fully funded because the current 602(b) allocation falls short of the necessary funding levels. As we know, the Violence Against Women Act was passed unanimously by this House in 1994. This Act was Congress' statement that we would not stand idly by while American women were injured by their husbands, boyfriends, or family members. It symbolizes our commitment to end the epidemic of domestic violence in our Nation. Mr. Chairman, I was pleased to work with the chairman of the subcommittee on the provisions in the bill that funds the domestic violence programs. Currently this bill takes a large step forward in fulfilling our commitment to the women of this country. Working together, we have provided funding for battered women's shelters, victims of sexual assault, and local community programs to end domestic violence. In addition, we have also included full funding for the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline, which opened in February received over 15,000 calls in its first 4 weeks alone. It is helping women all over the country receive the services that they desperately need. Mr. Chairman, I know the chairman of the subcommittee did everything he could to fund these programs under the 602(b) allocation from the crime trust fund for this subcommittee. However, despite his commitment to these programs, we are still approximately $16 million short of full funding. Can we find a way to get these programs the funding they so desperately need?

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I would like to respond to some of the points that were brought out in this debate, because again I invite my colleagues who support the NRA, who believe that the individual citizen has the right to carry a gun, to join us in support of this amendment. I do that for the following reasons: First, I would like to clarify that the CDC's mission is to promote health, quality of life, by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. We have heard from doctors like Dr. Lundberg that violence is a public health emergency. We are not talking about taking away anyone's gun. This is not an advocacy amendment. We are talking about preventing violence. This is not duplicative. We have seen from studies that CDC does not duplicate the work of any other Federal agency or department in its work on firearm injuries. It focuses on the prevention of firearm injuries before they occur. The Department of Justice focuses on incarceration of offenders after the shootings occur. So we are not talking about taking away guns, Mr. Chairman. We are talking about preventing violence. That is why this agency has done such important work on conflict resolution, helping to prevent violence, working in our communities, working to prevent domestic violence. That is what this is all about. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I urge Members to work with me to stop the violence that pervades our communities and our country.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Delaware [Mr. Castle].

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro].

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Nadler].

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to my colleague, the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Mrs. Kennelly].

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi].

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella]. (Mrs. MORELLA asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Stokes], a distinguished member of the committee.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas [Mr. Porter], chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education of the Committee on Appropriations. The NRA arguments that the Centers of Disease Control research is ``junk science'' is, of course, specious. Does the NRA know more about science than the New England Journal of Medicine? The NRA protestations that the research is duplicated elsewhere is spurious. Even the GAO disagrees. So what is the NRA afraid of? They are afraid that legitimate science will conclude that having a gun in the home is dangerous. They are afraid that consumers will learn that a gun in the home increases the chances of suicide and accidental deaths--particularly among children. Last year, I joined with my Republican friend Steve Horn in a bipartisan letter to restore these important CDC funds. I hope that this amendment will have similar bipartisan support. We need to prove to the American people that when the NRA says jump, Congress doesn't put on its gym shorts. Everyone--everyone except the extremists at the NRA--understands that this CDC research is necessary and objective. Let's show that we can rise above the paranoid rantings of the NRA to do something to make gun ownership a little bit more safe. Support this amendment.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentlemen from New York [Mr. Schumer]. (Mr. SCHUMER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Delaware [Mr. Castle], my colleague and cosponsor of the amendment.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Maloney]. (Mrs. MALONEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, this amendment that the gentleman from Delaware [Mr. Castle] and I are introducing with the gentleman from New York [Mr. Schumer] restores funding to the CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Our amendment simply overturns the Dickey amendment passed by the full committee which reduced the bill's appropriation for the CDC injury prevention and control program by $2.6 million and increased the appropriation for the area health education centers by a like amount. This amendment will restore the injury prevention and control program to its fiscal year 1996 level of $43 million, which is the level approved by the subcommittee. My colleagues who support the area health education centers program, as I do, please note that under our amendment, the area health education center will receive an increase of $2.9 million, or over 12 percent, compared to last year. Why must we restore funding for the CDC injury control program? Because the injury prevention and control program helps to prevent thousands of needless and tragic accidents and injuries each year. The injury prevention and control program is one of the leading Federal agencies working to prevent domestic violence. Injury control funds are also being used to prevent drownings at Federal recreation facilities, reduce violence in public housing projects, cut down on driving accidents by the elderly, improve emergency medical services in order to decrease the number of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, reduce deaths caused by fires in the home and many, many other lifesaving activities. Unless our amendment passes, all of these vital activities could be affected. So why were funds for the injury prevention program cut? Let me be very blunt to my colleagues. The NRA dislikes the fact that the injury control center collects statistics and does research on gun violence. Even though the injury control program spends only 5 percent, or 2.6 million, of its budget on gun violence related research, it is despised by the NRA. But frankly, my colleagues, I do not understand this. Is not the purpose of the NRA to promote the responsible use of guns? Is not the NRA interested in keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and teenagers who are not using guns for sport but to kill? It seems to me that the CDC and the NRA really should be working together to ensure that guns are used safely and responsibly. We will hear charges that the CDC research is biased and duplicative, but the program passed three rigorous reviews by the GAO, the National Academy of Science and the HHS office of the inspector general. After reviewing Federal violence prevention efforts, conservative columnist George Will concluded in 1992: Clearly the criminal justice community is inadequate to the task of turning the tide of violence; so as a sound investment in improving the quality of American life, no Federal funds are spent better than those that fund the CDC's research. While the Justice Department focuses on the incarceration of offenders after the shootings occur, the CDC focuses on the prevention of gun injuries before they occur. CDC injury control research is examining how trauma surgeons can help to intervene in the cycle of youth violence and prevent youth from returning to trauma centers at a rate of 44 percent. CDC research is looking at why some inner-city youths commit violence with guns and others do not. CDC research is helping State departments of health around the country better monitor gun related injuries so that they can most effectively target their prevention activities. The NRA's attack of the CDC puzzles me put it also outrages me. Gun violence in America is a public health emergency. According to Dr. George Lundberg, an editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, ``There is no question now that violence is a public health issue. Research to end this epidemic of violence is absolutely vital and it must continue.'' Over 37,000 Americans die each year from wounds inflicted by guns. Almost 6,000 children and teens are shot every year by guns; 100,000 other Americans are injured in shootings each year. This explosion of violence is placing an enormous burden on our health care system. The medical cost of gun violence is $4.5 billion a year. The cost of treating a patient with a gunshot wound averages over $14,000. As a result, more than 60 urban trauma centers have been forced to close over the past 10 years alone. If current trends continue, Mr. Speaker, gunshots will surpass car accidents as the leading cause of death in United States. To combat this horrifying trend, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control has conducted groundbreaking peer reviewed research on the types and costs of injuries caused by firearms. It has worked to prevent suicide among teens, taught conflict resolution techniques. Let me be very clear, the center conducts research, gathers facts. It is not an advocacy organization nor does it make policy. In fact, our amendment preserves language in the bill which prohibits the CDC from advocating or promoting gun control. Let me state this a second time so that my colleagues are clear. This amendment preserves language in the bill which prohibits the CDC from advocating or promoting gun control. The NRA opposes the CDC injury control research because it wants to suppress the awful truth about gun violence. The NRA simply does not want the facts set getting out. It is no more than censorship. It must be stopped. There are many groups that support this amendment: The College of Emergency Physicians, AMA, ABA, American Public Health Association, the American Nurses Association, the Association of State Health Officials, and on and on. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to preserve the vital work of the injury control center. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.