WASHINGTON, DC – Early this morning, the United States House of Representatives passed the fiscal year 2006 Department of Defense Appropriations conference report.  Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland) gave the following floor statement on this legislation:

“Mr. Speaker, this bill provides sorely needed funds for our troops and their families, who deserve the very best of equipment, research and development, and support services.  

“We should have passed this bill weeks – even months – ago.  The Administration’s puzzling reluctance to accept a ban on torture, along with the majority’s decision to use defense spending as a shield for passing controversial legislation, delayed passage of this important measure.

“So here we are tonight, poised to push through a measure that would open up the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling – a measure so contentious and wrong-headed they had to hide it behind our courageous troops to get it done.   

“Here we are passing an across-the-board cut on all discretionary spending programs.  We are wielding the ax indiscriminately and unmercifully, hurting low-income children in need of reading and math help, seniors who need help paying record heating bills this winter, local law enforcement officers who need equipment and training, and our nation’s own FBI counterterrorism efforts. 

“Here we are passing a landmark package to ready our nation for a potential outbreak of avian influenza.  But we shortchange the President’s request and ignore key priorities like state and local preparedness, leaving our hometowns woefully under-prepared to contend with such a disaster.  We also ignore the fact that the best response is prevention, dedicating only meager funding to international efforts to detect and fight avian influenza.  Furthermore, we fail to provide one cent to entice farmers in affected countries, who are on the front lines of detection, to report incidences of avian flu to the proper health authorities.  The flu package included in this bill is riddled with gaps which may indeed undermine all of our efforts.  And the overly-broad liability provisions and inadequate compensation program are simply unacceptable. 

“Here we are ignoring the blatant need in one of the most wretched corners of the earth – Darfur, Sudan.  While the Administration and the Republican majority each try to earn their fiscal responsibility stripes by withholding needed funding from the African Union peacekeeping mission, the genocide continues. 

“$50 million – a miniscule percentage of the total included in this bill – could save innocent lives in Sudan.  Tonight’s shenanigans have demonstrated that this Administration and this majority will ram through whatever legislation they want if given the opportunity; they are simply not committed to do what we can to bring peace and stability to Darfur.  We should all be ashamed that this bill is silent on this matter of life and death.

“Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve more from Congress than eleventh hour gamesmanship and stealth legislating.  This dishonest process and incomplete product should disgust us and our constituents.  We can do better.”