Media

Good morning. The Subcommittee will come to order. I want to welcome everyone to the Subcommittee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

I am pleased to be joined by our Subcommittee Ranking Member Bishop, and full committee Ranking Member DeLauro, and the Members of the Subcommittee.

As Americans know all too well, our country continues to face record inflation driven by the reckless spending of the Biden Administration. We simply cannot continue down this path of providing large sums of money with no accountability. This bill takes the same approach American families take every day – they have to do more with less under the Biden economy. American families decide every day where to cut back spending to pay for what's most important. Sometimes tough decisions have to be made.

The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations bill works to lower costs and grow our economy by supporting America's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.

During the last Congress, many agencies and programs received significant increases, which is why I asked this Subcommittee to take a hard look at the spending it oversees.

I thank Chairman Harris for coming up with ways to gather some of the funds we already have on hand and redirect them toward priorities in this bill. Specifically, this bill prioritizes spending on agricultural research, internet coverage for rural areas, and plant and animal health programs.

Welcome to the subcommittee markup of the Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations bill.

I would like to welcome Full Committee Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member DeLauro, our Subcommittee Ranking Member Cuellar, and all the Members of the Subcommittee.

Let me begin by thanking the Members of the Subcommittee for their participation and insightful questions during our budget hearings over the last few months. As we put together the bill and report in front of you, we made a concerted effort to address as many Member priorities as possible.

Our job on the Subcommittee is to ensure that the men and women of DHS who work tirelessly on our behalf have the resources and tools they need to protect the homeland. I want to convey our deepest appreciation for everything they do to safeguard our national security.

Thank you, Chairman Carter, for presenting the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill, the first appropriations bill we will consider for Fiscal Year 2024.

I appreciate the work that you have done on this bill.

With our markups this week, we will demonstrate how we are able to reduce overall spending without impacting our commitment to veterans, national defense, or homeland security.

This bill before us fully and responsibly funds veterans' health care.

It will ensure our veterans get the medical treatment they deserve.

It also rejects the Administration's proposal to shift resources to the mandatory side.

This bill covers those costs in the annual discretionary budget.

The bill also prioritizes our nation's heroes by:

Welcome to the Subcommittee markup of the Fiscal Year 2024 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. Welcome Ranking Member DeLauro and Ranking Member Espaillat.

Colleagues, as we go into our last Subcommittee meeting, I want to say thank you for your hard work and collegial attitude and particularly the cooperation and patience of our Ranking Member, Mr. Espaillat.

I also want to thank the Subcommittee staff on both sides. From the Majority, Michelle Reinshuttle and Jackie Ripke, and from the Minority, Faye Cobb and Raquel Spencer. Thank you all for your due diligence and hard work.

I am proud to present the Fiscal Year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill to you today.

The bill fully funds veterans' health care and matches the President's Budget Request for veterans' benefits, other veterans' programs, and the VA's activities and functions.

We kept our promise! And we did it responsibly!

We did not accept the proposed shift of more than $14 billion to the mandatory side of the budget. Instead, we utilized the Cost of War Toxic Exposure Fund as intended: to cover the incremental costs above the FY21 baseline to implement the PACT Act.