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Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3237 – a bill to provide funding for Capitol security and other purposes.
Unfortunately, after several weeks of discussions, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have chosen the path of partisanship instead of working together, and I want to explain how we ended up in this situation.
In January, the Speaker of the House directed a retired lieutenant general and his team to review security needs on the House side of the Capitol following the events of January 6th. This review was directed without even consulting House Republicans or the Senate.
Even though the review by General Honore began as a partisan effort, Members of the Appropriations Committee hoped things could get back on track and we could negotiate a funding agreement that could be supported by both parties in both chambers.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Admiral Faller, it's good to see you again.
SOUTHCOM is an extremely important area of operations that frequently does not get the priority it deserves because of conflicts in other areas of the world. It has been, and will continue to be, a priority of mine.
The crisis on our southern border is just the most recent reminder of how critically important the region is to the security of our own country.
I have seen for myself on many visits to the border and to the region that this is not a new problem we are trying to solve.
We have tried many times to address the reasons why people decide to make the dangerous journey from Central America to the United States.
Thank you, Chairman Price, for holding this hearing today.
I want to welcome the secretary for his first hearing with our Committee.
Mr. Secretary, I know you come to Washington with the perspective of a former mayor. You have said that there are no Democratic or Republican potholes. And, as a former mayor myself, I completely agree with you on that point.
You reached out to me early on, and I look forward to continuing our conversation as we work together to address our nation's transportation infrastructure needs.
This is an area where we in Congress have historically worked together to find common ground so that we can make investments to improve the lives of all Americans.
You will find that this Committee works in a bipartisan way to find practical solutions, and I hope that this approach will continue to guide our work for fiscal year 2022.
