Remarks

Thank you, Chairman Price, for holding this hearing today.

I want to welcome the secretary for his first hearing with our Committee.

Mr. Secretary, I know you come to Washington with the perspective of a former mayor. You have said that there are no Democratic or Republican potholes. And, as a former mayor myself, I completely agree with you on that point.

You reached out to me early on, and I look forward to continuing our conversation as we work together to address our nation's transportation infrastructure needs.

This is an area where we in Congress have historically worked together to find common ground so that we can make investments to improve the lives of all Americans.

You will find that this Committee works in a bipartisan way to find practical solutions, and I hope that this approach will continue to guide our work for fiscal year 2022.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing today so that we can hear Secretary Vilsack's plans for the Department of Agriculture.

The events of the past year have affected virtually every sector of our economy. This is especially true for our farmers and ranchers. Thanks to the staff at USDA, programs were quickly implemented to help those affected by the pandemic.

In addition to providing direct support to our farmers and ranchers, USDA provided temporary assistance to families who had their incomes reduced. I am especially thankful for the efforts of the department and our local communities to ensure children were fed when they were not in school.

Not only were our schools closed as a result of the pandemic, in-person doctor visits were limited, and it was a challenge just to conduct normal business transactions. The urgency to close the digital divide in Rural America has never been more clear.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8900 – a continuing resolution that will fund the government through December 18th.

Members of the Appropriations Committee have been negotiating night and day for weeks to reach agreement on full-year appropriations bills.

At the same time, House and Senate leaders continue to discuss a coronavirus relief package with the Administration.

It is my hope that we can complete both of these important pieces of legislation as soon as possible.

There is so much at stake – our national security, the health and well-being of millions of Americans, and our economic recovery.

Passing this one week C.R. is simply a stop-gap measure. I expect we will be back on the floor next week to complete the year's work.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of this continuing resolution so that the Senate can pass it and send it to the president for signature.

Madam Chair, at a time when millions of Americans are facing untold hardship as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and Congress still needs to pass full year appropriations bills to avoid a possible government shutdown, it is disappointing that our Committee is debating a longstanding, bipartisan policy that polls have shown the majority of Americans support. In fact, the provision we are discussing, the Hyde Amendment, has been signed into law by presidents of both parties since the 1970s.

The Hyde Amendment prevents federal taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortions, except for in limited cases to save the life of the mother or when the pregnancy resulted from an act of rape or incest.

Mister Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this bill.

Unfortunately, by considering this bill today we are abandoning the spirit of bipartisanship that has allowed us to work across the aisle four times this year to pass critical coronavirus relief legislation.

This bill was crafted without input from Members on our side of the aisle, and it does not have the support needed to pass the Senate or be signed by the President.

There are some things included that I support, such as –

• Helping small businesses that are desperate for a lifeline,
• Enabling the airline industry to continue to pay its employees,
• Providing additional assistance to help schools continue reopening, and
• Increasing testing for the virus.

Yet, I cannot overlook – nor can I overstate – the significant problems I have with this bill.