Barbara Lee Named to Powerful Spending Subcommittees Lee Will Serve on Labor, Health and Human Services, Foreign Operations and Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittees
(Washington, DC) – Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) was named to House Appropriations Subcommittees that make decisions about federal spending on issues ranging from foreign humanitarian and military aid to healthcare, labor and education to the activities of the legislative branch.
“I consider it an honor to have the opportunity to help set the nation's spending priorities and ensure our spending truly reflects our nation's values, particularly in the critical areas of health, education, labor, foreign policy and the legislative branch,” said Lee.
The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee is in charge of funding for programs in agencies including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor and related agencies including the Social Security Administration and the National Labor Relations Board. The Labor HHS appropriations bill is the second largest, after Defense, and includes $140 billion in discretionary funds for issues ranging from Pell Grants to expand access to higher education to money for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to fight and treat AIDS domestically.
The Foreign Operations Subcommittee oversees funding for programs in agencies including the State Department, Department of Defense, USAID, Department of Treasury, Export-Import Bank and the Peace Corps. The $20 billion FY07 bill passed by the House included funds for the war on terror, humanitarian assistance, food aid and for fighting global HIV/AIDS.
The Legislative Branch Subcommittee determines funding for the legislative branch of government, ranging from the operations of the House itself to the Capitol Police, the Library of Congress and the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office.
The twelve appropriations subcommittees are in charge of drafting the spending bills that govern all federal discretionary spending, some of the few bills whose passage each year is considered mandatory.
In December, Lee was named to the House Appropriations Committee, which controls the federal purse strings and is widely viewed as one of the most powerful committees in Congress.
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