Senator Allard Says He Will Support New Supplemental Appropriations Bill

SENATOR ALLARD SAYS HE WILL SUPPORT NEW SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL
Says Conference Report a "victory" for fiscal responsibility

U.S. Senator Allard (R-CO) said Tuesday that "fiscal responsibility" won out over "pork barrel politics" when the House-Senate Appropriations Conference Committee, which Senator Allard was a member, agreed to a total of $94.5 billion in funding for the Supplemental Appropriations Bill. The funding level is more than $14.7 billion lower than the Senate approved on May 4th.

"A month ago, I voted against the Supplemental Bill in the U.S. Senate because I felt the spending in it, which totaled almost $107 billion, was unnecessary and extravagant. I am pleased the other members of the Appropriations Conference Committee agreed with me. The actions we took to reduce the cost of this legislation will save the taxpayers $14.7 billion dollars. I call that a good month's work for the taxpayer."

"Although many items in need of funding were not included in this emergency supplemental bill, we will have an opportunity through the regular authorization and appropriations process to address these needs," added Allard. "As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I look forward to working with my colleagues in addressing those needs through the appropriate process. Emergency Supplemental Bills should be for ‘emergencies' not a vehicle to load up special projects and I am very pleased the members of the Conference Committee agreed with me."

The Supplemental Appropriations Bill contains funding for the war effort, hurricane recovery in the Gulf Coast, pandemic flu preparation, border security, and levee repair and flood control projects. It also includes avian flu preparedness funding.

http://allard.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=231906&Month=6&Year=2006