Rep. Denny Rehberg is seeking public comment on a funding bill he recently introduced for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. The legislation contains $153.4 billion in discretionary funding for fiscal year 2012, which in a statement Rehberg says is a 2.5 percent reduction in spending compared to last year and 15.2 percent less than President Barack Obama’s budget request.
Rehberg is the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. He says his bill supports job creation and economic recovery by “funding critical job-supporting priorities like education and biomedical research while fostering a pro-job environment by reducing and eliminating harmful and unnecessary federal regulations.” This includes measures to prevent the implementation of the federal health care law.
“By spending tax dollars strategically, we can balance critical funding for programs that actually help people and families with the real need to rein in government over-spending,” Rehberg said.
Rehberg said he held 81 listening sessions and “countless meetings” in Washington DC and Montana while he and fellow subcommittee members worked on the legislation. The bill can be found at http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/FY_2012_Final_LHHSE.pdf.