Remarks

Thank you, Chairman Carter, and thank you to Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz, Ranking Member DeLauro, and all members of the subcommittee. Today, we begin consideration of the Fiscal Year 2027 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill – our first step in advancing another year of responsible, results-driven appropriations.

Welcome to the subcommittee markup of the fiscal year 2027 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.  Welcome Chairman Cole, Ranking Member DeLauro, and Ranking Member Wasserman-Schultz.

Good afternoon, everyone. It’s an honor to welcome the 21st Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Tom Schultz. Chief Schultz, you bring a wealth of experience to your role as Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, including a number of years as Idaho Director of Lands. As Idahoans, we have both seen firsthand how catastrophic wildfire can devastate our landscapes, communities, people, and the habitats of the animals that thrive in our forests.

Good morning. I want to thank you all for being here today for this hearing to review the budget and programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We are pleased to be joined by the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins. Welcome, Madam Secretary.

Thank you, Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member McCollum. This hearing could not come at a more consequential time. The global security landscape has only continued to grow more complex and volatile. Among those challenges before us are ongoing operations in the Central Command theater, and a pacing threat in the Indo-Pacific that does not pause while our focus may be elsewhere.

It is my pleasure to welcome Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle and Chief of Engineers Lieutenant General Butch Graham to discuss the Fiscal Year 2027 budget request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I am equally pleased to welcome Assistant Secretary for Water Science at the Department of the Interior Andrea Travnicek to discuss the Fiscal Year 2027 budget request for the Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah Project. General Graham, it is great to see you again in front of the Energy and Water Subcommittee. Assistant Secretary Telle and Assistant Secretary Travnicek, it is a pleasure to have you here before us for the first time. I look forward to working with you to advance our nation’s water resources for the benefit of all Americans.