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"Thank you, Chairwoman Emerson and Ranking Member Serrano, for your remarks. We appreciate your hard work and bipartisan spirit on this Subcommittee.

"Today, we are considering the Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations bill that funds our Financial Services and General Government programs and agencies. The $19.9 billion in funding included is nearly $2 billion less than last year, and nearly $6 billion below the President's request. It's safe to say that the Subcommittee and its staff have ensured that we have found real, responsible savings wherever possible in this bill.

"Many of the agencies and programs funded within this legislation can withstand reductions, and so we've returned funding levels to below the pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels of 2008 – making the necessary steps to reduce spending to help get our budgets back into balance.