Speech #1050034897

But earlier. the Senate rejected a bipartisan amendment that would have provided the budgetary room needed to enact a program providing health insurance to the millions of children who do not now have it. We were presented with a deal that gives lip service to some of our critical domestic needs by providing limited room for socalled Presidential initiatives. These include $16 billion over 5 years to provide health insurance to children who do not now have it. an increase in Pell grants. and increased funding for bilingual and immigrant education. child literacy initiatives. Head Start. and Environmental Protection Agency and National Park Service operations. But the allocations for these categories fall far short of the additional investments that are needed in these and other critical areas.