Remarks

The Subcommittee will come to order.

I want to welcome everyone to the Subcommittee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

I am pleased to be joined by Ranking Member DeLauro, Ranking Member Quigley, and the Members of the Subcommittee.

I believe the bill before the subcommittee responsibly funds our most critical transportation and housing needs, which will have a positive impact in every congressional district.

At the same time, the bill meets the challenge before us to reduce spending and get our debt under control.

The bill reduces spending 25% below Fiscal Year 2023 levels, with a CBO score of $65 billion. We achieve these savings through a rescission of IRS funds and by reducing billions in excessive spending.

Thank you very much, Madam Chairwoman.

I am pleased to present the fiscal year 2024 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations bill to the full committee for consideration and for approval.

I want to thank Chairwoman Granger for her leadership to get us to this point in the process. I also want to recognize her previous chairmanship and leadership of this subcommittee, as well as the Chairman Emeritus and my friend, Hal Rogers.

I want to acknowledge Ranking Member Lee. While we may not see eye-to-eye on most issues, I know she cares deeply about the programs funded in this bill, and I look forward to continuing to work with her as this process moves forward.

Finally, I want to thank the Members of the State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee on both sides of the aisle for their meaningful engagement during this budget process.

As we continue our work on the Fiscal Year 2024 bills, I want to remind everyone of the situation we find ourselves in.

During the last Congress, trillions of dollars were spent outside of the appropriations process.

We have no choice but to take a hard look at the spending this Committee oversees.

The State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill before us strikes the right balance.

It funds important national security priorities while reducing spending on unnecessary programs.

For example, the bill prioritizes resources to counter China, Russia, Iran, and other hostile countries.

At a time when our enemies are becoming more aggressive, we must continue to support our partners and allies around the world.

For example, the Chairman has included the funding requested for Israel to defend itself. The bill also addresses the harmful and growing bias against Isreal at the United Nations.

I want to thank Chairman Cole for presenting the Fiscal Year 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies bill. I appreciate the work he has done on this Subcommittee.

This bill is another example of the real progress we are making to reduce overall spending while funding our highest priorities.

The bill refocuses spending on programs that support affordable housing and safe, effective transportation systems.

Instead of giving the Administration more grant funding to spend, this bill gets us back to funding core missions.

This bill responsibly funds critical transportation infrastructure to ensure our roads, railways, and air traffic control systems are safe and reliable.

The housing programs in this bill provide support for working families, the elderly, the disabled, and our veterans.

The Subcommittee will come to order.

I'd like to welcome everyone to today's subcommittee markup of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.

At the outset, I would like to ask my colleagues for their indulgence, as my opening statement is longer than normal to explain the changes in this year's bill.

I want to thank Chairwoman Granger for her leadership and commend her for the substantial work it has taken to get to this point. I also want to recognize her previous leadership of this subcommittee, as well as the Chairman Emeritus and my friend, Hal Rogers.

I also want to acknowledge Ranking Member Lee. While we may not see eye-to-eye on most issues, I know you care deeply about these topics, and I look forward to continuing to work with you as this process moves forward.

Thank you, Chairman Diaz-Balart, for presenting the Fiscal Year 2024 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill.

As the former chair of this Subcommittee, I know the importance of these programs.

But, as I have said before, we must take a hard look at everything we oversee.

I thank the Chairman and the Members of the Subcommittee for doing just that.

This bill strikes the right balance in supporting the highest priorities, while reducing spending where we can.

Instead of funding unnecessary programs, such as climate change initiatives, the bill before us re-focuses spending on programs that strengthen our national security.

For example, the bill prioritizes resources to counter China, Russia, Iran, and other hostile countries.

Finally, the bill includes many provisions important to Members on my side of the aisle.

As the former chair of the Defense Subcommittee, I know firsthand what it takes to craft this bill.

I want to thank Chairman Calvert for his hard work.

I have no doubt this bill will strengthen our military and keep it focused on its mission.

The world around us is becoming more dangerous.

China is rapidly modernizing and becoming more aggressive in the Pacific, Russia continues its war against Ukraine, and Iran and North Korea are investing in ballistic missile capabilities.

We cannot afford to take these threats lightly.

We must provide the men and women of our military with the tools they need to defend our nation.

It sends a clear message that the United States is serious about investing in our capabilities, such as ammunition and ships, we will support our allies, and we are prepared to meet and defeat our enemies.

First, I want to thank Chairman Fleischmann for his work on this bill.

It delivers responsible appropriations in support of a stronger national defense, economy, and energy sector.

As we face growing threats around the world, the bill invests in the Department of Energy's work on weapons development and supporting infrastructure.

This bill also reduces spending on unnecessary programs and reprioritizes funding to areas that strengthen our energy security.

In particular, it eliminates funds from climate change initiatives in order to responsibly maintain programs that ensure affordable and reliable energy.

To reduce our reliance on China, this bill supports domestic development of critical minerals.

Finally, I appreciate the Chair's efforts to continue significant funding for the Army Corps of Engineers for navigation and flood control projects.