Remarks

Thank you, Chairwoman Granger. I appreciate your leadership and your continued support of our men and women in uniform.

I also want to recognize my friend, our Subcommittee's Ranking Member, Ms. McCollum. We have been each other's Chair or Ranking Member for many years now, and I appreciate our relationship.

The fiscal year 2024 Defense Appropriations bill provides $826.45 billion for the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community.

This is $286 million above the President's request and $27.8 billion above the Fiscal Year 2023 enacted level.

The stated mission of the Department of Defense is "to provide the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security." Our bill does exactly that by focusing on the DOD's most vital task – protecting our homeland and our national interests.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to present to the Committee the fiscal year 2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

First, I'd like to thank Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member DeLauro for their leadership on this bill. I'd like to especially thank my Ranking Member, Ms. Kaptur, for being a tremendous partner throughout this year's process.

I thank all Members for their input and requests for this bill. We received almost 5,000 Member requests and worked hard to be as accommodating as possible within the overall priorities of the bill.

The recommendation totals just under $58 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion above fiscal year 2023 and a reduction of $2 billion below the President's Budget Request.

The defense allocation is $32.5 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion above last year.

Let me begin by thanking the Members of the Committee for their participation in the process of putting the Homeland Security bill together.

We made a concerted effort to address as many Member priorities as possible.

Our job on this Committee is to provide the resources required to keep our nation safe. This bill ensures that the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, who work tirelessly on our behalf, have the resources and tools they need to protect this great nation.

The bill before us today provides $62.8 billion within the Subcommittee's budget allocation, and $20.3 billion for major disaster response and recovery activities.

The total within the allocation is $2.1 billion above the Fiscal Year 2023 level.

Appropriations bills communicate priorities; we must invest in border security and immigration enforcement.

Thank you, Chairwoman Granger.

I would like to start by saying thank you to our Ranking Member, Mr. Espaillat. His cooperation and patience as we have moved through the process this year is greatly appreciated.

Thank you to the Chairwoman, Ms. Granger for your leadership getting the Legislative Branch bill to this point, and Ranking Member DeLauro for all your support of the Legislative Branch.

The Fiscal Year 2024 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill provides $5.313 billion – a 4.5 percent decrease from the fiscal year 2023 enacted House levels and a 2.2 percent decrease in total allocation when you add in Senate items.

First, I want to thank the Subcommittee Chairman for his work on the Legislative Branch appropriations bill.

This bill is a great example of what needs to be done to reduce overall spending while funding our highest priorities.

This bill responsibly reduces funding for the Legislative Branch by 2%.

This is done without impacting the day-to-day operations of Congress or sacrificing the security of the Capitol complex.

It supports our brave Capitol police officers.

It also ensures that the House of Representatives can keep a close watch on the actions of this Administration.

This bill strikes the right balance, and I look forward to getting it passed out of committee today.

I want to close by thanking all the members and staff – majority and minority – for their hard work on this bill.

I want to start by saying the work we did last week shows how we are able to reduce spending where we can and prioritize funding for our core responsibilities.

That includes our national defense, veterans, and the bill before us: homeland security.

I want to thank Chairman Joyce for his hard work on this bill.

It provides what is needed to protect our homeland and address the ongoing crisis at our border.

Specifically, the bill:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for presenting the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies bill.

I appreciate the work you have done on this bill.

The bill before us delivers responsible appropriations in support of a stronger national defense, economy, and energy sector.

As we face growing threats around the world, this bill reduces spending on unnecessary programs and re-prioritizes funding to areas that strengthen our national security.

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

The bill also invests in our nuclear weapons and nuclear navy to ensure we have the ability to address the threats we face.

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

Welcome to the subcommittee markup of the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations bill. I am pleased to be joined by Subcommittee Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur, Full Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger, and Full Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro.

The Energy and Water bill is critical for our national security, our energy security, and our economic competitiveness. The recommendation totals $57.958 billion, an increase of $1.256 billion above Fiscal Year 2023 and a reduction of $1.963 billion below the President's Budget Request.

The defense allocation is $32.513 billion, an increase of $1.113 billion above last year.