The Line-by-Line: April 21, 2023

Apr 21, 2023
Blog

Welcome to the Line-by-Line, a summary of activities and highlights from the House Appropriations Committee Republicans, Members of Congress committed to reviewing the Federal budget, conducting oversight of taxpayer dollars, and making funding decisions, line-by-line.

In the first 100 days of the Republican Majority, the Appropriations Committee exercised its responsibility to conduct strict oversight over federal resources, ensuring taxpayer money is being used responsibly and holding the Biden Administration accountable by calling on department and agency officials to testify on their Fiscal Year 2024 budget requests.

 

 

This week alone, Appropriators held 15 hearings with appearances from four Cabinet Secretaries.

 Department of Homeland Security
 
The Homeland Security Subcommittee held four budget hearings with agency officials testifying from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

 

 

ICYMI, read the highlights from the ICE and CBP hearings: “House Appropriators Focus In On Biden's Border Crisis.”

 

 

Department of Education
 
In light of the Administration’s recent proposal to allow biological males to participate in women’s sports, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee Members criticized the Administration for threatening the very integrity of women’s sports during the Department of Education’s budget hearing.

The proposal comes as House Republicans passed The Protection of Women and Girls In Sports Act – a common-sense bill that states sex in the athletic context must be recognized based only on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.

Chairman Robert Aderholt emphasized how the Administration’s actions undermine Title IX protections: “Forcing schools to allow biological teen males into girls’ locker rooms is one of the greatest overreaches of the federal government I have ever seen. Not only does this undermine decades of work in giving girls the same opportunities to compete in women’s sports – the original intent of Title IX – it creates potentially unsafe situations.”

 

Photo of Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (AL)

 

Dr. Andy Harris continued by pointing to the clear physiological difference between men and women: “You are aware, that even pre-puberty, stark contrasts exist between the performance of boys and girls. For instance, a study in Australia [showed] nine-year-old boys ran 16% faster than nine-year-old girls. [For] six-year-olds, 9.7% longer long jump in a boy than a girl… There are differences – physiological. I’m sorry I can’t change chromosomes; you can’t change chromosomes. 6,500 different genes between men and women. 3,000 different ones that affect skeletal muscle.”

 

Photo of Dr. Andy Harris (MD)

 

Department of Transportation
 
Given recent train derailments, Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole emphasized safety in his opening statement during a budget hearing on the Department of Transportation: “Safety will be among our top priorities, if not the top priority, as we carefully consider how to allocate resources. From railcar derailments to motor vehicle traffic fatalities, to airline close calls, there is no shortage of safety concerns.”
 
During the hearing, Rep. Ryan Zinke underscored the importance of ending our nation’s dependence on China by boosting domestic production of critical minerals. Unfortunately, this Administration has done little to secure our supply chain and support the domestic production of critical minerals that are vital for our national security.

 


Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
 
During a budget hearing with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee Member Rep. Andrew Clyde called attention to ATF’s clear overreach: “Earlier this year, the Administration published a rule at ATF regarding pistol braces. In that rule, you redefined the definition of a pistol with a brace to become a short-barreled rifle. In my opinion, that seems to exceed the authority of ATF. That was not Congress’ intent… In this new rule, you say people who have a pistol with a brace have 120 days to register them with the ATF. How can ATF justify that timeframe?... You have potentially 10 million to 40 million people that have pistols with braces. How can you say 120 days is sufficient time?... What will happen to those that never heard of the rule after 120 days?”
 

Photo of Rep. Andrew Clyde (GA)

 

Appropriations Subcommittees held 8 other budget and oversight hearings:

 

 

Committee Schedule
 
House Appropriations Subcommittees will hold 7 hearings next week. The schedule is subject to change. Refer to the Committee’s website for the most up-to-date information.
 
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Thursday, April 27, 2023

    Friday, April 28, 2023

     

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