HARKIN: HOUSE LATE NIGHT SESSION NO CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR IOWA FAMILIES
12/19/2005
WASHINGTON, DC –
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today called on the Senate to reject
legislation passed in a flurry of late night activity in the House of
Representatives. House Republicans waited until the middle of the night
Sunday to order deep cuts to health-care initiatives, student loans and
farm programs, pave the way for drilling in the Artic Refuge, and sneak
through blanket protections for the pharmaceutical industry.
“It’s no accident these votes occurred in the dead of night,” Harkin
said. “There are only 6 days until Christmas. Throughout much of the
world, it’s the season of giving. But here in Congress, it’s the season
of taking away – taking away education programs, taking away job
training, taking away health care from low income families, taking away
from farmers and rural communities. And worst of all, taking away hope.
This is a cruel holiday surprise for American families, and I hope that
the Senate will reject it.”
LOW-LIGHTS OF THE HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ LATE NIGHT SESSION: A One-Percent
Across-the-Board Cut in spending resulting in:
— $68 million cut to Head Start — eliminating funding for
approximately 9,400 kids.
— $18 million cut to Community Health Centers— preventing 28 new
clinics from opening their doors, affecting 37,000 patients
nationwide
— $7 million cut to Meals on Wheels– resulting in 1.6 million fewer
meals for the elderly
— $28 million cut to Title I Education funding for low income
children—leaving 160,000 needy children behind
— $7 million cut to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA)– forcing state and local governments to foot a bigger bill to
meet special education needs
— $1.3 million cut from Organ Transplantation– preventing 1,700
transplants next year
— $5.9 million cut from the national Cord Blood Bank—reducing
collection of life-saving cord blood donations by 3,900 units
— $10 million cut from Afterschool Centers – taking programs away from
more than 13,000 disadvantaged students
— $139 million cuts to Rural Health Initiatives
Changes in the Medicaid program forcing low income beneficiaries to pay
more out pocket for health care
Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Broad Liability Protections for Drug Companies, without the possibility
of review by the courts, and without adequate safeguards or
compensation for individuals injured by vaccines and other
products.
Deep Cuts in Agriculture and Rural Development including:
— $949 million in cuts to Agricultural Conservation.
