Cross-posted from
Shayswatch
This afternoon, the House voted to pass a reworked version of the Labor, Health, and Education Appropriations budget for 2006 that fails to support our essential priorities. This is the largest domestic spending bill that Congress passes every year, and funds a variety of crucial education, health and worker initiatives. Every single Democrat in the House voted to defeat the bill, and they were joined by 12 Republicans. So-called "moderate" Chris Shays was not one of them, choosing to support a budget that makes sharp cuts in funding for education, job training programs, and health care.
This is a revised version of the spending bill that failed (and that Shays supported) last month, which went down to a 209-224 defeat. Republican leaders were forced to make several changes to the bill in order to ensure passage. One of the deals they made was to strike a provision from the bill that would have barred Medicare coverage of Viagra. They offset the costs of their changes by cutting $30 million from flu preparedness funds.
The bill passed by a single vote, 215-213. Chris Shays could have stopped it. He could have stood up on the floor of the House and demanded that his leadership fully fund the No Child Left Behind program, that they increase home heating assistance with oil and natural gas prices expected to rise. He did not. Instead of working for the benefit of his constituents, today Chris Shays voted for the benefit of the Republican leadership in the house.
Key provisions in the appropriations bill:
Freezes funding for home heating assistance at about $2.2 billion even though natural gas prices are expected to rise by nearly 40% and heating oil prices are expected to rise by 20% this winter. Experts have called for $5 billion in funding to meet the needs this year, over double what the bill allocates.
Cuts $437 million from critical services to unemployed and displaced workers.
Cuts funding for the President's signature Community College Initiative in half to $125 million. The program helps train workers to meet the needs of high-growth industries such as health care and advanced manufacturing.
Cuts No Child Left Behind initiatives by $779 million.
Cuts the Safe and Drug-Free School program by $87 million - nearly all school districts - about 14,000 - rely on this program for school safety, emergency preparedness, drug prevention, and anti-violence activities.
Provides smallest increase for the National Institute for Health in 36 years leading to nearly 505 fewer research grants than just two years earlier.
Eliminates the Healthy Communities Access Program (funded at $83 million last year) that makes grants to local consortia of hospitals, health centers, and other "safety net" providers to help build better integrated systems of care for uninsured and underinsured Americans.
Cuts health professions training programs (other than those for nurses) by $153 million.
To save a few bucks they can throw away on tax cuts for the rich, the Republicans are again attacking the poorest and most fragile among us. For many of us, it will be a long cold winter. We will remember Chris Shays and his ilk next fall.