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Thank you, Chairwoman Granger, and I want to commend your leadership in moving 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, as I appreciate the conversations he and I have had in regards to the bill. While I know we don't agree on everything, we have reached areas of consensus that will keep our Ag communities vital.

As we begin debate on the subcommittee allocations, I would like to set the stage for how we got where we are today.

I'll start with some background. I mentioned yesterday that during the last Congress, more than three trillion dollars was spent outside of the annual appropriations process. Government spending increased, and inflation soared. That is why we have no choice but to reduce spending where we can.

In addition, the President's Budget was more than a month late, which delayed the Congressional budget process. It also took months to resolve the debt ceiling. But, now that we have a framework, we can move forward with our bills.

While the Fiscal Responsibility Act set the topline spending limit, it does not require that we mark up our bills to that level. Simply put, the debt ceiling bill set a ceiling, not a floor, for Fiscal Year 2024 bills.