Remarks

Chairman Bishop, thank you for presenting the fiscal year 2022 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

I also want to recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Fortenberry.

I know both of you have worked together to fund priorities of Members on both sides of the aisle.

While this bill funds many important programs, it is based on a funding framework that does not have bipartisan support.

To put it simply, the increases proposed for non-defense bills like this one are just too high.

At the same time, the funding for our nation's defense is too low to meet the security challenges we face worldwide.

If we want to fund the good things contained in this bill, we must work together to develop spending levels both sides can support. We also need to agree to leave out controversial provisions.

Madam Chair, thank you for presenting the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill today.

I appreciate the work that you and Ranking Member Carter have done this year, reaching across the aisle to fund many projects important to our Members.

Unfortunately, just like the bills we discussed yesterday, this bill is based on a funding framework that the Majority party developed without Republican support.

This difference of opinion on funding priorities and on policy positions could slow down our appropriations process this year.

There is nothing more important than funding our nation's military and veterans, and we must try to resolve these disagreements so that important bills like this one can be signed into law.

One area that is particularly concerning in this bill is that it fails to include long-standing language prohibiting the transfer of detainees currently at Guantanamo Bay to the United States.

I want to begin by thanking the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Ryan, for presenting the fiscal year 2022 Legislative Branch appropriations bill.

I also want to recognize the ranking member, Ms. Herrera Beutler.

Over the last six months, I have seen the dedication you both have given to solving issues important to all Members of Congress. You have truly worked overtime, and we are grateful for your service on this subcommittee.

This bill before us today takes steps to make the House of Representatives more effective, efficient, and transparent on behalf of the American people.

This bill recognizes the service and sacrifice of our Capitol Police. It increases personnel benefits, grows the workforce of sworn and civilian personnel, and provides critical training and resources to safely carry out the department's evolving mission.

I want to thank Chairman Quigley for presenting the Financial Services and General Government bill, the first appropriations bill we will consider for fiscal year 2022.

I also want to recognize my friend, Mr. Womack, in his first markup as ranking member. I thank him for his years of service on the Budget Committee and now his leadership on this subcommittee.

It takes a lot of hard work to put a bill together, and it is even more challenging when you are the first bill in the line-up, so I want the chair and the ranking member to know how much we all appreciate their sacrifice.

In many cases, the bill before us reflects priorities of Members on both sides of the aisle, such as support for small businesses, drug control programs, and counterterrorism and financial intelligence efforts.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3237 – a bill to provide funding for Capitol security and other purposes.

Unfortunately, after several weeks of discussions, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have chosen the path of partisanship instead of working together, and I want to explain how we ended up in this situation.

In January, the Speaker of the House directed a retired lieutenant general and his team to review security needs on the House side of the Capitol following the events of January 6th. This review was directed without even consulting House Republicans or the Senate.

Even though the review by General Honore began as a partisan effort, Members of the Appropriations Committee hoped things could get back on track and we could negotiate a funding agreement that could be supported by both parties in both chambers.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Admiral Faller, it's good to see you again.

SOUTHCOM is an extremely important area of operations that frequently does not get the priority it deserves because of conflicts in other areas of the world. It has been, and will continue to be, a priority of mine.

The crisis on our southern border is just the most recent reminder of how critically important the region is to the security of our own country.

I have seen for myself on many visits to the border and to the region that this is not a new problem we are trying to solve.

We have tried many times to address the reasons why people decide to make the dangerous journey from Central America to the United States.

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.