Remarks
"Welcome everyone to today's Full Committee mark up of the fiscal year 2012 Financial Services and General Government bill.
"The bill before us today matches the Subcommittee's discretionary allocation of $19.9 billion. This allocation is nine percent less than fiscal year 2011, 18 percent less than fiscal year 2010, and 22.5 percent less than the President's request. This reduction resulted in some very tough decisions, but they are necessary to reduce the Federal government's unsustainable level of spending.
"Thank you, Chairwoman Emerson and Ranking Member Serrano, for your remarks. We appreciate your hard work and bipartisan spirit on this Subcommittee.
"Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2112, the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.
"I'd like to thank the Chairman, Mr. Frelinghuysen, and the Ranking Member, Mr. Visclosky, for their remarks and for their hard work on the FY 2012 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill.
"The fiscal year 2012 Department of Defense base budget recommendation before us today is $530 billion, which is $8.9 billion below the request. The overseas contingency operations recommendation is $118.7 billion, which is $842 million above the request. This increase is mostly attributable to the transfer of the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund from the State/Foreign Operations Subcommittee to the Defense Subcommittee.
"I would like to start by thanking Chairman Young and Ranking Member Dicks for your remarks and for your commitment to crafting a bipartisan Defense bill that supports our troops and addresses our critical national security needs.
"The $530 billion in non-emergency funding contained within this Defense bill will provide our armed forces with the resources they need, and will allow for the advancement of our nation's missions abroad and the protection of our people here at home.
"I would like to thank Mr. Pastor and all members for their participation in putting this bill together and in many oversight hearings.
"The Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill supports programs critical to our nation's security, safety, and economic competitiveness. This year, we make tough choices to balance these critical needs against the equally-pressing mandate of getting our nation's fiscal house in order.
The House today will consider the fiscal year 2012 Homeland Security Appropriations bill – the first of the 12 annual funding bills to move to the floor this year. The legislation targets funding to critical homeland security programs and operations, while helping to address the urgent need to reduce spending to rein in the nation's unprecedented deficits and debt. In total, the legislation provides $40.6 billion in non-emergency funding for the various programs and agencies within DHS.
