Remarks

Before I get into my remarks on this important piece of legislation, I would like to join in commending my friend, Ranking Member Norm Dicks, for his years of valuable contribution to this Subcommittee. Mr. Dicks has been a member of the Interior & Environment Appropriations Subcommittee for almost 36 years, having served as Chairman for three of those. This is a terrific accomplishment and we will be sorry to lose his wealth of institutional knowledge when Mr. Dicks retires at the end of the year. I wish to thank you for your years of service to this Committee, the House of Representatives, and our country.

Welcome to the subcommittee markup of the fiscal year 2013 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies bill. I want to thank our colleagues, especially Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Dicks, for joining us today.

I also want to personally thank Mr. Moran and each of the Members for their active participation and the bipartisan spirit that continues to be a hallmark of our subcommittee's deliberations.

While I know that Mr. Moran, Mr. Dicks, and my Democrat friends will not be able to support this bill in its present form, I want each of you to know how much I sincerely appreciate your positive contributions. My staff and I have made a genuine effort to work with you and your staff.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to offer the THUD bill for Full Committee consideration today. I hope we can be brief. I'd like to thank Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Dicks for your leadership in getting this bill to Full Committee, and, we hope, to the floor in the near future. I think we stand a good chance of being successful in completing House consideration.

Before we get to the bill, I want to congratulate my colleague and the Ranking Member of this subcommittee, John Olver, for his years of service. As many of you know, Mr. Olver is retiring at the end of this Congress, and I have to say, he will be sorely missed by this Committee and all of his colleagues here in the House. This is a better bill because of his relentless quest for knowledge about its programs. He stands out for his kindness and compassion. Thank you, John Olver, for your service not just to this institution, but to the Nation.

This bill does the important work of supporting a vibrant and safe infrastructure, while making the difficult but responsible cuts needed to get our budgets back into balance. This bill continues the thoughtfulness and restraint that have become the hallmark of this Committee over the last several years of budgeting. It prioritizes our nation's most critical transportation programs accordingly, creating an environment that fosters job creation and funds important repairs and improvements, and ensuring access to affordable housing options.

The legislation before us holds the line on federal spending, cutting $3.9 billion from last year's level - totaling $51.6 billion in discretionary funding. While recognizing the ongoing process of a transportation authorization bill, the bill provides needed funding for Federal Highways, the FAA, the FTA, passenger and freight rail, and safety programs.

Thank you, Chairman Rogers for yielding.

We have before us today the fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill and report for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies as passed by the Subcommittee on June 6th.

I want to begin by thanking Ranking Member Farr for all of his work, and the bipartisan spirit with which we bring the FY 2013 Agriculture appropriations bill to the full committee today. I also want to acknowledge all subcommittee members for their work this year through the hearings, and the subcommittee markup. Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Dicks have worked to get our bills through the Committee and to the floor, and I want to thank them for their efforts as well.

I think Chairman Kingston and his Subcommittee did a great job with their $19.4 billion 302(b) allocation in this Agriculture Appropriations bill. They cut spending wherever possible – saving $365 million from last year and more than $1.7 billion from what the President would have liked to spend.

However, while this bill brings down discretionary spending – what we control as appropriators – mandatory spending continues on autopilot. While it's important to help those in greatest need – children who rely on nutrition programs for their health, and the millions of Americans who depend on SNAP for example – there has to be a realization that this rapid spending can't continue when our debts are so high. Something must be done across all areas of mandatory government spending before we automatically spend ourselves into catastrophe.

Ladies and gentlemen of the House, we bring before the House today the 2013 appropriations bill for the Legislative Subcommittee. This is a bill that spends $3.3 billion, which is approximately 1 percent less than last year. That's a $33.4 million reduction from last year.

I think all of us know that we are living in difficult economic times in this country. Taxpayers want to know that when they send their money to Washington it's being spent wisely. We also know that government needs money to provide services, but right now government needs something more. The government needs a sense of discipline to rein in spending. The government needs a commitment to make sure that every task of government is accomplished and completed in a most efficient and most effective manner, more so than ever before.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 5882, the fiscal year 2013 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill.

This legislation on the floor today provides funding for the Legislative Branch, allowing us to keep the doors of the Capitol open, the offices of our Members functioning, and our staff and visitors safe.

This is the fifth appropriations bill we've brought to the floor so far this year, and considering that it's June eighth, that's a remarkable achievement. But what's even a greater achievement is how much we've been able to tighten our belts in the House. Over the last two years, we've cut funding for the House by 10.5%. As Members of Congress, we represent hundreds of thousands of Americans who've found themselves with less, and so, with our limited federal resources and astronomical deficits in mind, we too should spend less wherever possible