The Mount Airy News
United States Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.-5) has voted for H.R. 3057, a bill that cuts hundreds of millions of doll
ars from foreign aid, while increasing support for Israel and our allies in the War on Terror.
“It is important that we take care of priorities at home before spending money overseas,” said Rep. Foxx. “However, we do have national security interests in the world. I applaud this bill for increasing aid to Israel, which will help them in their security and counterterror efforts. I am also pleased that we are providing security assistance to Afghanistan and to our allies in the Global War on Terror.”
The Congresswoman commended the bill for prohibiting assistance to governments that support terrorism including Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Iran, Syria and countries that export lethal military equipment to those countries. The bill also contains restrictions on sending assistance to the PLO.
Finally, the bill includes several important safeguards including:
A provision to withhold 60 percent of funds allocated for Russia until its government has terminated arrangements to provide nuclear assistance to Iran.
A provision to prohibit the U.S. Export-Import Bank from approving federal loans for the construction of nuclear power plants in China.
A provision to limit assistance to countries that refuse to extradite wanted criminals back to the United States.
On Monday afternoon, Foxx voted for H.R. 3010, an appropriations bill to increase funding for key priorities such as education and health care. The bill passed the House 250 to 151.
“I am pleased that my colleagues and I were able to take care of funding these priorities while exercising fiscal restraint at the same time,” said Rep. Foxx. “The funding for this year’s Labor-HHS bill is less than Congress allotted last year and this will help reduce the spending-driven deficit. This bill eliminates many inefficiencies and shifts resources to programs that actually work, all while saving taxpayers $3.8 billion.”
Rep. Foxx emphasized that while the bill saves taxpayer dollars, it still increases funding for many key programs. For example, maximum Pell Grant awards, which make it possible for needy individuals to attend college, are now increased to $4,100. This is the highest level in our nation’s history. In addition, total funding for the program is now increased by more than $1 billion during last year.
The appropriations bill also expands access for small community and faith-based service providers and increases funding for communitybased abstinence education programs.
On the health care front, the bill provides a $100 million increase in funding for Community Health Centers and increases funding for research at the National Institutes of Health by $145 million. The bill also substantially increases funding for counter-terrorism and bioterrorism preparedness programs.
