Remarks
Good afternoon, Chairman Sessions, Ranking Member Slaughter, and members of the Rules Committee.
I am here before you today to present an amendment to the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, the Continuing Resolution that will keep the doors of the government open after the end of the fiscal year on Monday, September 30, 2013.
I seek an appropriate rule to provide for the expeditious consideration of this important legislation.
As you know, we face a very short timeline for getting this done. With amendments, we will need to send this bill back to the Senate for approval, and we have only three legislative days to get this to the President for his signature to avoid a government shutdown.
I do not need to remind my colleagues, both in the House and the Senate, that a government shutdown would be terrible for this country. The American people have spoken, and they do not want a government shutdown.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present H.J.Res 59, the Continuing Resolution that will keep the government operating into the next fiscal year.
The base CR is straight-forward – it is clean, it is short-term, and it continues reductions in federal discretionary spending. Most importantly, it will prevent a government shutdown.
The legislation also includes an amendment to the base bill, which adds the text of H.R. 2682, the Defund Obamacare Act of 2013, and the text of H.R. 807, the Full Faith and Credit Act.
H.J.Res. 59 will fund the government for the first 76 days of fiscal year 2014, until December 15, 2013.
It provides $986.3 billion in funding – approximately the same rate as the current, post-sequestration level with some minor adjustments.
Good afternoon, Chairman Sessions, Ranking Member Slaughter, and members of the Rules Committee. I am here before you today to present H.J.Res. 59, the Continuing Resolution that will keep the government operating following September 30, 2013, the end of the current fiscal year.
I'm here before you today to seek an appropriate rule to provide for the timely consideration of this legislation. Time is running out, and the House must take up – and pass – this bill as soon as possible.
This CR is a mechanism to keep the doors of the government open after current appropriations bills expire.
The base of this CR is clean, includes no controversial riders or policy reforms, is short-term, and prevents a catastrophic government shutdown.
Mr. Chairman, today I present H.R. 2610, a bill providing fiscal year 2014 appropriations for the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies.
This THUD bill conforms to the 302(b) allocation of $44.1 billion in budget authority, and is in line with the House budget of $967 billion. Under such an allocation, we prioritized programs and spending, and were able to achieve three very important funding goals: meet the ob lim funding levels of MAP-21; keep the commercial air space running smoothly; and preserve and renew the housing option for all HUD-assisted families under lease in fiscal year 2014.
Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2397, the Fiscal Year 2014 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill.
This bill provides more than $512 billion in base funding for our national security and military efforts, and $85.8 billion in "Overseas Contingency Operations" war funding. This is a base funding decrease of $5.1 billion below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level, but is approximately $28.1 billion above the current level caused by automatic sequestration spending cuts.
This total reflects an appropriate, thorough analysis of what is needed to keep this country safe. Freedom isn't free; our liberties, our rights, and our property are preserved by our national defense – but at a cost.
Sufficient funding for the Pentagon and our military is of the utmost importance to the continued prosperity of the United States of America. It is, and should be, our top priority.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield myself 5 minutes to discuss the fiscal year 2014 Defense Appropriations bill.
The bill includes base funding of $512.5 billion for the Department of Defense, which is $3.4 billion below the CBO estimate of the President's request, and approximately $28.1 billion above the estimated fiscal year 2013 sequestration level. For Overseas Contingency Operations, the bill includes $85.8 billion, which is $1.5 billion below last year's level.
We have worked closely with all interested parties to produce a good, bi-partisan bill. And despite the reduction in our base allocation, we were able to accomplish much. For example, the bill adds:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield myself three minutes.
It's my honor to bring the Fiscal Year 2014 Energy and Water bill before the membership of the House.
However, before I go through its highlights, I'd like to thank my ranking member, Congresswoman Kaptur, and all members for their participation in putting this bill together so quickly, and so responsibly.
I'd also like to recognize the hard work of Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey to bring this bill, and the several others before it, to the floor under an open rule.
The bill for Fiscal Year 2014 totals $30.426 billion, $2.9 billion below last year's levels, and more than $4 billion below the President's request.
The budget allocation we received this year made for some very difficult decisions, but in our bipartisan tradition we worked hard to incorporate priorities and perspectives from both sides of the aisle.
Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2217, the Fiscal Year 2014 Homeland Security Appropriations.
I'd like to thank my colleagues for their careful consideration of the MilCon Appropriations bill yesterday, and I'd like to ask them to continue these efforts on this bill today – a conscientious piece of legislation that I believe can and should pass this House on a bipartisan basis.
The bill before you today provides $38.9 billion for the Department of Homeland Security.
In such austere budget times, this bill rightly prioritizes spending on programs that save American lives. Frontline protection, terrorism prevention and response, disaster recovery assistance, and a strong and secure border – all of these are paramount to the safety and security of our homeland.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, it was 69 years ago this Thursday that more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded during the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France. That courageous operation, as well as the sacrifice of so many brave individuals, serves as a sobering reminder that freedom and security are in fact not free.
It is with this solemn commitment to both freedom and security that I respectfully present to the people's House the fiscal year 2014 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security.
Similar to our Subcommittee's work over the past three fiscal years, this bill demonstrates how we can fund vital security programs and enforce the law while also reducing discretionary spending overall.
So, this bill is about our security and fiscal priorities...and getting them right.
The fiscal 2014 Appropriations bill for Military Construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs meets the needs of the Departments while saving money. Mr. Bishop and I worked together to ensure that this is a bipartisan bill and I would like to thank him for his hard work and dedication throughout this process. It has also been a great pleasure to work with Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey – they are equally committed to ensuring that our military, our veterans, and their families have what they need and have earned as a result of the sacrifices that they have made for our freedom.
