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I want to thank Chairman Quigley for presenting the Financial Services and General Government bill, the first appropriations bill we will consider for fiscal year 2022.
I also want to recognize my friend, Mr. Womack, in his first markup as ranking member. I thank him for his years of service on the Budget Committee and now his leadership on this subcommittee.
It takes a lot of hard work to put a bill together, and it is even more challenging when you are the first bill in the line-up, so I want the chair and the ranking member to know how much we all appreciate their sacrifice.
In many cases, the bill before us reflects priorities of Members on both sides of the aisle, such as support for small businesses, drug control programs, and counterterrorism and financial intelligence efforts.
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.
