Hearing of the House Appropriations Committee - FY 2016 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill

Hearing

I want to begin by commending Chairman Cole and Ranking Member DeLauro for bringing this
bill before the Committee today.

You, your Subcommittee and the Subcommittee staff have done great work under a tight budget,
and I am grateful to you for helping us move one step closer toward our goal of finishing all 12
bills before the August recess.

Our priorities may differ, but we can all agree that the programs in this bill are important to the
health and well-being of this nation. The American people rely on these programs for life-saving
research, protection from deadly outbreaks and bio-attacks, safe workplaces, and effective
education systems.

This bill totals $153 billion -- no small amount -- and funding is targeted to programs that are
proven to produce results. Conversely, great efforts were made to ensure none of this funding is
spent wastefully or inappropriately.

This includes terminating unnecessary programs, trimming back lower-priority areas, and
preventing tax dollars from going toward extreme, intrusive regulations that have a negative
effect on this nation.

For instance, we cut back the red tape at the Department of Labor by prohibiting regulatory
changes to the definition of the term "fiduciary," and by preventing the NLRB from executing
regulations that hurt our businesses large and small.

The bill also stops the implementation of ObamaCare -- prohibiting the use of any new
discretionary funding for the law or to administer its programs.

Instead, the bill makes wise investments in tested programs on behalf of the American taxpayer.
To invest in cutting-edge medical research, the bill provides $31.2 billion for the National
Institutes of Health - $1.1 billion above last year. Within the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the bill prioritizes preparedness for bioterror attacks and pandemic diseases. I'm also
pleased to note that we expanded efforts to combat prescription drug abuse.

The bill also supports important education initiatives that help those most in need -- funding
special education state grants at $12 billion and Head Start at $8.8 billion.

And this bill helps our veterans with training and employment opportunities, ensuring they have
a smooth transition as they transfer out of active-duty and back to civilian life.

These are just some of the highlights of what I think is a very good appropriations bill. It is wellbalanced,
thoughtful, and most importantly, fiscally responsible. I urge the Committee to
support it today.

Thank you.

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