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“ Democratic priorities are clear: we will fight to get the economy back on track, we will create jobs, and we will help unemployed workers. ” |
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Pelosi: Statement on Omnibus Spending Bill
Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the Fiscal Year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Conference Report, a $388 billion spending bill to fund the government until next Sept. 30, which passed today by a vote of 344 to 51:
“The American people have a right to a Congress that represents their values and works toward their goals. However, in the 108th Congress, House Republicans forced through a miserable budget with misplaced priorities, and they ran up a record deficit with their reckless tax cuts for those who need them least. Today, we see one more result of their irresponsibility.
“This omnibus spending bill is unwieldy and not reflective of the aspirations and needs of the American people. Sadly, for the fourth time in the last five years, a massive omnibus bill is also the only option left on the table to fund the government for the next year. As such, it will have my reluctant support.
“It did not have to be like this. With responsible budgets, pay-as-you-go requirements, and tax cuts that create jobs instead of deficits, we could have been voting on appropriations bills that were a statement of our national values. We could have pursued a positive agenda for America.
“Instead, we are left with a bill that provides $1.3 billion less for veterans’ health care than the amount that the bipartisan Veterans’ Affairs Committee says is necessary to maintain the current level of care. We are left with a bill that underfunds No Child Left Behind by $9.6 billion and eliminates Pell Grants for nearly 100,000 students at a time of record college tuition increases. We are left with a bill that rejects the Democratic effort to protect overtime pay. The list goes on and on.
“America deserves so much better than this bill, but the Republican majority’s economic mismanagement and misplaced priorities have left no other choice.”
“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
