FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards today voted for the 2010 Labor, Health, and Education Appropriations Act, H. R. 3293, which passed the House 264-153.  The bill makes vital investments in job training, strengthens health and social safety net programs crucial to hard-working American families, and provides educational opportunities and infrastructure support to prepare our youth to compete on a global level and ensure the nation’s long-term prosperity. 

“This is a fiscally responsible bill that allows us to provide short-term help to those who need it most, while making long-term investments in our workforce and our youth,” said Rep. Edwards.  “Despite the difficulties of these economic times, I am heartened that we still prioritize the needs of our most vulnerable and provide support for programs for abused and neglected children, adolescents and children exposed to domestic violence, and for local domestic violence shelters.”

Included in the appropriations bill, Congresswoman Edwards secured the following funding:

• Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)—Health
  • Facilities and Services Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, MD, for facilities and equipment
  • $500,000
  • Description: The funds for this project would establish a partnership among Prince George’s Hospital Center, Malcolm Grow Medical Center on Andrews Air Force Base, and the University of Maryland to enhance national, regional, and local preparedness and capacity to respond to large-scale medical emergencies resulting from biological chemical or nuclear attacks, pandemics, or other mass casualty events in the National Capital Region. 
• Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF)—Social Services
  • Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD, for community based service delivery and outreach
  • $200,000
  • Description: The project will create community based service delivery to better serve residents in the neighborhoods  experiencing greater rates foreclosures, evictions, emergency assistance requests, and poorer health and social outcomes.
• Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF)—Social Services
  • Prince George’s County, Upper Marlboro, MD, for a program for transition-aged youth
  • $165,000, with Rep. Chris Van Hollen
  • Description: The funding for this project would be used for providing transitional housing for young parents and children with mental illness. 
• Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)—Health
  • Facilities and Services Montgomery College, Rockville, MD, for facilities and Equipment
  • $550,000, with Rep. Chris Van Hollen
  • Description: The funds for this project would equip the facilities at Montgomery College with all necessary health and life sciences, including allied health/nursing training and stimulation equipment and equipment for Germantown Biosciences. 

Some of the investments found in the Labor, Health and Education Appropriations Act include:

Improving Education

• Title I Grants for Low-Income Children:  $14.5 billion for Title I grants to school districts, helping to ensure that 20 million disadvantaged children in nearly 55,000 public schools obtain the educational skills they need to compete in the global economy.  In addition, the Recovery Act provided $10 billion for Title I grants.  
• Pell Grants:   In FY 2009, the Democratic-led Congress provided an historic $619 increase in the maximum Pell Grant, to $5,350.  This bill maintains the discretionary portion of the maximum Pell Grant at $4,860, which, combined with a mandatory supplement of $690, will a support a $5,550 maximum Pell Grant in FY 2010.  Since Democrats took over Congress in January 2007, the maximum Pell Grant has been increased by $1,500 or 37 percent – from $4,050 to $5,550. In FY 2010, 7.6 million college students will receive Pell Grants.
• Support for Developing Institutions:  $653 million to strengthen the capacity of Historically Black and Predominantly Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities and Native American-serving Institutions, Asian Pacific Islander, and Native American institutions. . 
• TRIO and GEAR UP:  $868 million, for the TRIO programs, and $333 million, for GEAR UP, to assist approximately 1.7 million disadvantaged and first-generation college students to prepare for, enter, and complete college – an increase of 51,000 students over FY 2009.

Job Training and Placement Initiatives
 

• Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities:  $1.4 billion for training and supportive services for workers affected by mass layoffs and plant closures.  More than 500,000 workers lost their jobs in the first three months of 2009 due to mass layoffs.  These workers will also be assisted by $1.45 billion in the Recovery Act.
• Unemployment Insurance Operations:  $3.2 billion to help states process unemployment insurance claims.
• Green Jobs:  $50 million to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy.  This new Administration initiative will support pre-apprenticeship programs, career pathways, and other gateways for more than 8,000 workers to enter careers in emerging green industries.  The Recovery Act provided $500 million for green jobs.
• Veterans Employment and Training:  $265 million to maximize employment and training opportunities for veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce, and to protect their employment rights.  This amount includes $8 million in the Education Department for a new Centers of Excellence for Veterans Success initiative to establish college and university-based support centers for veterans seeking to obtain a post-secondary education. 

Health Care Access, Training Health Care Workforce, & Other Priorities

• Community Health Centers:  $2.2 billion for Community Health Centers.  This funding will provide primary health care to 17 million patients, of whom 40 percent are uninsured, in 7,500 service delivery sites.  The Recovery Act also provided $2 billion for community health centers in fiscal years 2009 and 2010. 
• Public Health Activities:  $6.7 billion for public health activities administered by the CDC, such as efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and to intensify surveillance on emerging infectious diseases like MRSA and novel influenzas.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services:  $3.6 billion for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) programs.

Strengthening Social Services

• LIHEAP:  $5.1 billion for LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance) to ensure that approximately 7.5 million low-income households continue to receive the assistance they need.
• Head Start: $7.2 billion to sustain high-quality, comprehensive early childhood services, including educational, health, nutritional, and social services, to approximately 978,000 low-income children before they enter school, nearly 70,000 over the FY 2008 level.

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