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M. Speaker. H.Res.184 provides for consideration of H.R. 1105, the -Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009.- The rule provides one hour of debate controlled by the Committee on Appropriations and one motion to recommit with or without instructions. The rule also self-executes an amendment that blocks the automatic cost-of-living adjustment due to be provided to Members of Congress in 2010.
M. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and in support of the Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act.
This bill represents the completion of last year's work.
We are in this position today for one principal reason - George W. Bush failed to provide budgets that reflected the real needs of the American people. And his philosophy was essentially ‘my way or the highway.'
If he had gotten his way last year, he would have cut energy efficiency, renewable energy and weatherization programs. He would have cut education by eliminating vocational education programs, slashing higher education programs, and cutting programs to help teachers and improve technology. He would have cut healthcare access programs even as the number of uninsured Americans grew. He would have frozen biomedical research funding, and cut the Centers for Disease Control. And he would have cut state and local law enforcement grants and job training, employment services and worker protections during the economic crisis.
So, today, our job is to fix things; to clean up the mess of the last Administration and to help people.
Last night, President Obama promised to do things differently. He promised an honest accounting of our Nation's needs. That may not seem revolutionary, but it's a big and positive change from the past eight years.
For the first time, the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will actually be included in the budget. The costs won't be covered up - or hidden. The American people will know the real costs of these wars.
We will anticipate and budget for federal dollars in response to natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes.
In short, there will be more truth-telling.
We need to move forward, and I believe we will. But first, we need to dispense with last year's business.
Some on the other side say we shouldn't pass this omnibus bill today because it is too big and too expensive.
They complain that it will add to the deficit.
It's interesting to hear my friends on the other side of the aisle worry out loud about the deficit. Where have they been for the last eight years?
Facts are stubborn things, M. Speaker, and the facts speak for themselves.
M. Speaker, we're facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and the biggest debt in the history of this country. This is something we inherited from my friends on the other side.
So it is somewhat ironic that the very people who drove this economy into a ditch are now complaining about the size of the tow truck.
I believe that we need to do whatever humanly possible to get this economy back on track and to help the American people. I believe this President has the political will to do the right thing and I believe this Congress will support him.
What is before us, to put it simply, is help for states, cities and towns and for average people. There's an increase over current levels. This, combined with the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, provides a lot of help to a lot of people.
M. Speaker - this is not the bill I would have written if it were solely up to me. I want to see more money in this bill for roads and bridges, more money for international food aid and anti-hunger programs like the McGovern- Dole Program and Food for Peace, and more money to combat climate change. I want to see Pell Grants fully funded and I want to make sure that all eligible children receive a meal during the summer months if they receive a meal during the school year.
But I'm glad we reversed the Bush cuts on domestic priorities.
I'm proud of the increased funding for WIC in this bill, funding that will help low-income pregnant mothers and newborns receive the healthy food they need. I'm pleased that this bill provides a 19 percent increase for the Food and Drug Administration, funding that will be used for critical oversight of our nation's food supply so that we don't have more contamination scares like the recent peanut contamination cases we've recently seen.
This bill also increases funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by providing $558 million above 2008 for a total of $11.5 billion. And this bill provides $550 million for the COPS program, a program critical to the safety of our cities and towns.
M. Speaker, we need to get this bill completed. We need to finish the job left over from the last Congress and turn the page - once and for all - on the last eight years. I urge my colleagues to support this rule and this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
