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Madam Chair, thank you for yielding.
Before I begin my remarks about the Defense bill, I want to take a moment to recognize the Chairman of the Subcommittee, Mr. Visclosky.
I had the honor of working closely with him when I chaired the Defense subcommittee. Chairman Visclosky is one of a kind. His passion and commitment to our servicemen and women and their families is absolute.
He serves with dignity, with modesty, and with determination. Like Nita Lowey, he is also a joy to work with.
He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy and will be greatly missed.
I also want to thank my friend, Ken Calvert, for the outstanding job he is doing leading this subcommittee as our ranking member. You cannot find anyone more committed to our national security.
I want to start by thanking Chairman Price and Ranking Member Diaz-Balart for their hard work on this Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development bill.
The programs funded in this bill reach into all of our communities - creating more economic opportunity and improving the quality of life for the American people.
This bill continues key transportation infrastructure and safety programs, including highway, transit, and port funding.
The funding provided for airport infrastructure and air traffic modernization will be critical for the aviation industry as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
I want to thank Chairman Price for working with Ranking Member Diaz-Balart to include many of the priorities of Members on our side of the aisle.
Unfortunately, there are some provisions in this bill that will prevent me from supporting it.
WASHINGTON – Today, the full committee met to consider the fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills for the subcommittees on Defense, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development. Committee Republicans were unable to support these three bills due to several controversial policy proposals, a total spending level that is billions of dollars above the budget agreement, and some questionable funding decisions that were made within the amounts provided.
I want to thank Chairman Serrano and Ranking Member Aderholt for their work on the fiscal year 2021 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill, and for their leadership on this Committee.
From efforts to combat criminal threats and protect children, to programs that strengthen U.S. competitiveness, this bill supports many important priorities of Members on both sides of the aisle.
It helps our nation's innovators and manufacturers and invests in cutting-edge research and technology.
I commend Chairman Serrano and Chairwoman Lowey for maintaining provisions that protect life.
However, there are several items that concern me. For example, long-standing language carried for many years to protect Second Amendment rights is stripped from the bill.
Also, the bill makes new investments in science, but only selectively. For example, there is not a penny more for NASA.
