July 10, 2003
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today voted against the FY 04 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill, which significantly underfunds educational programs by billions of dollars, fails to increase Pell Grants in spite of dramatically climbing college tuition costs, and slashes health care programs.
The bill underfunds the No Child Left Behind Act by $8 billion, even though President Bush earlier promised full funding. The bill reduces low-income energy funding to $1.8 billion. The bill also fails to provide any significant increase for domestic AIDS programs even though 43,000 people per year develop AIDS in this country, and funding has not kept pace with the destruction of this horrible disease.
A Democrat alternative, which the Republicans refused to allow to be voted on, would have added $8.5 billion for, among other things, education, Head Start, and meals-on-wheels programs for the elderly. The Democratic proposal would have been paid for by reducing millionaires’ disproportionate share of the $350 billion Republican tax cut. At present, the average tax cut for millionaires will be $93,000, but the Democratic proposal would have cut the tax break in half, so that the average tax break for millionaires would be reduced to $44,000.
“This appropriations bill is an outrage,” said Lee. “Millions of Americans are not receiving the fundamental necessities of food and education because the Republicans believe that we should fatten the wallets of the wealthiest Americans.”
California will be devastated by the provisions of the bill. California school systems will receive $872 million less in Title I money for education than was promised. After school-programs in the state will lose $102 million. All in all, California education systems will be underfunded by $1.3 billion because Republicans pushed for the reduced spending to clear money for their tax cut.
“These budget and appropriations bills reflect the values of the Republican Party,” said Lee. “Clearly, their priorities of tax cuts for millionaires at the expense of millions of children, their health care, and education are wrong.”
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee Votes Against Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill
Bill significantly reduces education funding, shortchanges health and human services programs
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today voted against the FY 04 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill, which significantly underfunds educational programs by billions of dollars, fails to increase Pell Grants in spite of dramatically climbing college tuition costs, and slashes health care programs.
The bill underfunds the No Child Left Behind Act by $8 billion, even though President Bush earlier promised full funding. The bill reduces low-income energy funding to $1.8 billion. The bill also fails to provide any significant increase for domestic AIDS programs even though 43,000 people per year develop AIDS in this country, and funding has not kept pace with the destruction of this horrible disease.
A Democrat alternative, which the Republicans refused to allow to be voted on, would have added $8.5 billion for, among other things, education, Head Start, and meals-on-wheels programs for the elderly. The Democratic proposal would have been paid for by reducing millionaires’ disproportionate share of the $350 billion Republican tax cut. At present, the average tax cut for millionaires will be $93,000, but the Democratic proposal would have cut the tax break in half, so that the average tax break for millionaires would be reduced to $44,000.
“This appropriations bill is an outrage,” said Lee. “Millions of Americans are not receiving the fundamental necessities of food and education because the Republicans believe that we should fatten the wallets of the wealthiest Americans.”
California will be devastated by the provisions of the bill. California school systems will receive $872 million less in Title I money for education than was promised. After school-programs in the state will lose $102 million. All in all, California education systems will be underfunded by $1.3 billion because Republicans pushed for the reduced spending to clear money for their tax cut.
“These budget and appropriations bills reflect the values of the Republican Party,” said Lee. “Clearly, their priorities of tax cuts for millionaires at the expense of millions of children, their health care, and education are wrong.”
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