Barbara Lee Supports Labor, HHS Appropriations Bill
For Immediate Release
July 24, 2009
Contact: Nicole Y. Williams
(202) 225-2661
Legislation will Invest in Education, Housing and Health Care Improvement for Americans
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) voted to invest in improvements in education, housing and health care of the American people. The Labor, Health and Education Appropriations Act builds on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide short-term relief to struggling American families by shoring up our social safety net programs, and long-term solutions to help grow our economy and build up the workforce of the future.
“Our nation is in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the great depression,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “Families are losing their jobs, losing their homes, and losing their access to health care. People are hurting, and they need our help. That’s why this bill is so important.
“From expanding support for education initiatives like early childhood education, to job training and employment services, to expanding access to health care and improving public health, this bill provides a critical range of social services to our constituents.”
Congresswoman Lee also highlighted a number of important priorities that were included in the bill at her request including:
- $653 million to strengthen Historical Black Colleges and Universities, Predominately Black Institutions, Hispanic-serving Institutions, and Other Developing Institutions, a $110 million increase over the President’s request for all minority serving institutions.
- A $54 million increase for HIV/AIDS funding through the Ryan White CARE Act, and a $56 million increase for the CDC’s HIV/AIDS Bureau.
- $50 million for Green Jobs Training programs, building on the $500 million we provided in the Recovery Act, and;
- Replacing discredited and ineffective abstinence only programs with the President’s evidence-based teen pregnancy initiative to fund proven approaches to reduce unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
During the debate on the bill, Congresswoman Lee also voiced opposition to proposed amendments that would have eliminated funding for grants for HIV/AIDS programs, HIV prevention needle exchange programs and Planned Parenthood.
The 9th Congressional District of California stands to receive nearly $2.5 million in federal funding through this legislation, including:
Alameda County Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS - $300,000 for the High Risk Behavior Change Campaign Initiative in Alameda County, CA: The Office of AIDS is continuing its High Risk Behavior Change Campaign to increase HIV testing among African-Americans in Alameda County. Funding will allow for expansion of the affordable, culturally competent, and youth friendly outreach and HIV testing program to include access to and support for prevention and care programs.
Alameda County Library Foundation - $300,000 for Campaign to Open a New Castro Valley Library: Due to open in late 2009, the new Castro Valley Library will replace the current cramped facility that has served the community for 40+ years without a renovation, expansion, or update. Over this period, Castro Valley’s population has grown by 54% and become considerably more diverse. The new library will offer more space for collections, joint use space for cooperative programming of the library and school district, community meeting space, and expanded access to state-of-the art technology for use by thousands of visitor each year.
Asian Health Services (AHS) - $275,000 for New Access Point for Comprehensive Primary Care Project: Funding will be used to expand AHS nationally recognized culturally and linguistically competent health care services by developing a new eight-exam room comprehensive primary care clinic. The new clinic will be located where Asians comprise the largest percentage of residents. The location of the new clinic site is an office building in a commercial hub by Lake Merritt. The goals of AHS site expansion are: (1) increase capacity to serve patients by 25% and (2) improve care of patients with chronic diseases.
Cypress Mandela Training Center - $275,000 for Pre-apprentice Construction Training: This funding will be used to provide free solar and green construction pre-apprenticeship training for disadvantaged minorities, unemployed, men and women from inner-cities with limited to no training. Basic training augmented by our life skills component maximizes job placement. The hard-to-serve and re-entry youth will be targeted to ensure opportunities with green jobs. This will help reduce the recidivism rate, fight poverty, and crime simultaneously.
City of Emeryville - $250,000 Center of Community Life for Family Counseling Programs and Early Childhood Development – City School Parenting Center: The purpose of the Parenting Resource Center is to provide early childhood development services, family and child counseling, and healthy after-school activities to the students of Emeryville Unified School District (EUSD) and their families; as well as the predominantly low and very low-income children and families from surrounding communities served by Emery Unified. The project is a component of the manifestation of a seven-year partnership of the school district and City of Emeryville as well as additional diverse local public and private sector partners.
Girl’s Inc. - $250,000 from DOE for Promoting Literacy and Family Literacy for Underserved Communities: Beginning with preschoolers and their families, especially those who do not speak English, Girls Inc. provides developmental play and literacy programming for girls throughout the early grades. By increasing family bonding and early literacy skills, preschool programming provides interventions that are critical for increasing school success among young children.
Leadership Excellence, Inc. – $250,000 for Oakland Cares Mentor Recruitment Circle for Mentoring Youth: This funding will be used to connect caring adults to existing community-based organizations, where they can serve as role models, dedicated to helping vulnerable young people, especially African American youth, transform and secure their lives. The Oakland Cares circle uses outreach and training to churches, civic groups and other places where caring adults gather, to expand the pool of qualified adults available to serve as mentors to our most vulnerable young people. Oakland Cares connects this volunteer base to established mentoring organizations with an outstanding record of success serving youth in peril.
Oakland Museum of California - $250,000 for a Museum Technology Initiative for Educational Outreach: The Oakland Museum of California provides one of the most extensive education programs of any museum in the Bay Area, serving an audience extending from Bakersfield to Eureka. It is, indeed, the California Museum for students and scholars interested in learning about the state’s extraordinary artistic expression, cultural history, and biodiversity. However, many of the Museum’s resources are not available to the public since only a small percentage of the collection can be shown in the galleries at any one time.
Youth Radio - $250,000 for the Youth Radio Media & Technology Center: Youth Radio, a national leader in building workforce skills among at-risk youth through training in media production, digital technology and broadcast engineering, recently acquired