Washington, DC (February 1, 2007) – Today Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) issued the following statement on the passage of the $465.5 billion joint funding resolution in the House of Representatives:

“Yesterday the House passed a spending budget that will enable us to clean up the mess the Republicans left behind. Last year, the Republican-led Congress refused to pay the bills, demonstrating fiscal recklessness by failing to pass nine of the 11 appropriations bills needed to run our government. In contrast, the Democrats have come up with a responsible budget that will enable Congress to move forward and follow through on a new set of priorities. 

"I applaud my colleagues’ decision to finally honor our promise to increase the maximum value of the Pell Grants. These scholarships are crucial in helping our neediest students realize their dreams of a college education, and this appropriation is an important first step after four years of flat funding.

“In this budget, we also took another step toward making sure that our nation’s schools are better funded. The budget for Head Start, a program that funds child development services for economically disadvantaged children, was increased by $104 million to prevent a drop in enrollment. 6,700 schools also received more funding so that they can better meet the standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act.

“The Democratic-led House also voted to increase veterans’ health care by $3.6 billion. This money will provide much-needed services to 325,000 veterans who have risked their lives for our country.

“Despite the constraints, the resolution is a fiscally responsible compromise that will allow us to finally start working on this year’s budget and bring integrity and honesty back to Congress. We’ve already begun to make great strides.”