Press Releases
"Today, I am pleased to bring to the Committee the fiscal year 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
"I want to first thank Chairman Rogers for supporting us with a fair allocation. We are pleased to be returning to regular order and hope to bring this bill to the House floor before the August recess.
"The FY 2012 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill represents this committee's commitment to reducing spending and a shared sacrifice. This bill makes cuts starting in our own backyard, trimming House leadership, Member and Committee budgets by over 6 percent. This legislation's smaller budgets for our own offices underscore our goal of reducing government spending across the board.
"This bill funds operations of the House, the Capitol Police, national treasures such as the Library of Congress, as well as the maintenance of the historic buildings we meet in and the agencies that support Congress.
"While the legislative branch appropriations bill is the smallest of the annual Appropriations bills - less than one half of one percent of all spending - it presents a unique set of challenges and concerns, particularly in these tough economic times.
"Good morning and welcome to the full committee markup of the fiscal year 2012 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies bill.
"Today, we consider the Fiscal Year 2012 Interior Appropriations bill. I know that Chairman Simpson, Ranking Member Moran, the Subcommittee and staff on both sides have put a great deal of effort and care into this bill we have before us today, and I thank them for their work.
"Thank you, Chairman Crenshaw and Ranking Member Honda, for your hard work on the Legislative Branch bill.
"This bill funds the operations of the House, national treasures such as the Library of Congress, maintenance of the historic buildings we meet in, and the agencies which provide support to the Congress. While a strong Legislative Branch is crucial to our democracy, we must also be mindful of limited resources and do more with less here in Washington.
"The recommendation for FY12 provides $3.3 billion, excluding Senate items, which are traditionally left to the Senate to determine. This is a decrease of $227 million, or 6.4%, from the FY2011 enacted level and a decrease of $472 million, or 12.4%, from the requested level.
