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DeLauro Statement On GOP Failure To Move Labor, Health, Education Bill

Press Release

Date: July 24, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care Education

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released the following statement today on the news Republicans on the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee have indefinitely postponed consideration of legislation funding critical labor, health and education programs. DeLauro is the senior Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for writing that bill.

"Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee announced this morning that tomorrow's markup of the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education bill has been indefinitely postponed. Shame on them. Shame on them for putting forward this façade of a budget. Shame on them for gutting funding for education, health and labor programs to such a low level that they cannot even defend their own proposals.

"Their proposal would have been a disaster for the American people. At this funding level, it would be impossible to spare even critical agencies like the National Institutes of Health from drastic cuts. This bill funds mental health care, supports our schools and helps people access job training, just to name a few areas. Cutting desperately needed money from these, and other critical programs, is unconscionable."

"I hope that the reason for this indefinite postponement is that the Majority wants to rethink their approach to governing. However, I doubt it."

The funding bill for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education is the only one of the 12 spending bills that has not been considered by an Appropriations subcommittee. Cuts proposed by Republicans come on top of a severe erosion of funding weathered by programs in those departments over the last 10 years.

The level of funding allocated for the Labor-HHS-Education fiscal year 2014 bill is 22 percent below enacted levels for the last fiscal year. In actual dollar terms, it would be the smallest Labor-HHS-Education bill since 2001. Once adjusted for inflation, it would actually be 15 percent below the 2001 funding level.


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