Remarks

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.

Good morning, everyone. The Subcommittee will come to order.

This morning we will markup the Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.

I want to welcome all the Subcommittee Members to this morning's markup, including the distinguished Chair of the full House Appropriations Committee, Kay Granger, Ranking Member DeLauro, and Subcommittee Ranking Member Hoyer.

I know that we will not agree on all matters before us and that we will engage in spirited debate, but I am hopeful that in the end, we will produce an appropriations bill that will better serve all Americans and the nation as a whole.

However, and I have said this before, the budget process is broken, and the American people deserve better.

We must take this serious and work together to get the process back on track.

As we continue to move through markups, it is important to remember that this is not a normal funding year. Trillions of dollars were spent outside of the annual appropriations process during the last Congress, and we must re-evaluate our spending priorities.

The Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Services bill reflects that goal – and ensures that misplaced spending is re-prioritized to meet our most pressing needs. As we seek to fully fund our national defense, veterans, and border security, unnecessary spending will be lower on the priority list.

I am pleased to see that the bill before us rejects significant increases in the President's Budget Request, and instead saves billions of dollars by:

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.

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:

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.