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I want to begin by thanking the Chairwoman of the Full Committee, Ms. Granger, for her leadership and her tireless efforts to bring these Appropriations bills to the floor.
I also want to thank the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, my good friend Mr. Cuellar, who has worked with us in good faith on the bill, despite some disagreements on policy.
And lastly, I have enjoyed my time sitting next to the Ranking Member of the Full Committee, the Gentlelady from Connecticut, not once, but twice in the last few days.
The bill before us today provides $62.8 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, an increase of $2.1 billion above the Fiscal Year 2023 level.
In addition, the bill also includes $20.3 billion for disaster response and recovery activities—including to support communities after the devastating wildfires in Maui and Hurricane Idalia.
Madam Chairwoman, I am proud to speak on the Fiscal Year 2024 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations bill for floor consideration today.
If you've read the bill, you know it is very straightforward.
If you are a friend or an ally of the United States, this bill supports you.
If you are an adversary or are cozying up to our adversaries, then frankly, you will not like this bill.
I am extremely proud of this bill, which was carefully and thoughtfully developed over many months.
In my judgment, it reflects the values and interests of most Americans.
We carefully reviewed all the organizations and programs that receive U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Among the key factors:
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I rise today to bring before the House H.R. 4368, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bill.
I want to thank Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Granger and commend her for her leadership in moving this bill and the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations process forward. I also want to recognize the Ranking Member of the Full Committee, Ms. DeLauro, and the Ranking Member of the Agriculture Subcommittee, Mr. Bishop. I appreciate the conversations he and I have had regarding the bill. While I know we don't agree on everything, we have reached areas of consensus that will keep our Ag communities strong.
Today's hearing is on the VA's Electronic Health Record Modernization program. I'd like to welcome our witnesses: Dr. Neil Evans and Dr. Jonathan Nebeker, who are leading the program for VA, and Mr. Mike Sicilia with Oracle Global Industries.
A modern, interoperable electronic health record system that fully integrates VA, Defense Department, and community providers is a fundamental part of fulfilling our promise to provide world-class health care to our country's Veterans.
For more than 20 years, VA has attempted to modernize its system. About five years ago, I was hopeful VA was on the right track when it decided to acquire the same system as the Defense Department and then signed a contract with Cerner. However, we are now in a "reset" period.
