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Thank you for appearing today, Madam Secretary. I am looking forward to this discussion, and especially looking forward to hearing from a distinguished and well-respected former colleague. I am very glad that HUD has a Secretary who understands what we do here in the House, and we thank you for your hard work and service to the American people.
I also want to welcome my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to this budget hearing. I know we're all excited to hear from you and start the process of getting to a bipartisan bill that responsibly funds the government.
The Subcommittee will come to order. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess at any time.
I would like to welcome everyone to this afternoon's hearing. Thank you to our Subcommittee members and to Secretary Raimondo for being here today. I will begin by recognizing myself for an opening statement.
The Department of Commerce's mission of promoting job creation and economic competitiveness is critical to our economy and to furthering American innovation.
The Department of Commerce has 13 major bureaus with a budget of over $11 billion. The FY24 budget request is $12.3 billion, an increase of over $1 billion, or 11% over the enacted level.
The Department's diverse mission areas combine to help foster the innovation and development that propel the U.S. economy.
The Subcommittee will come to order. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess at any time.
Our witness this morning is Steven Dettelbach, Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
I will begin by recognizing myself for an opening statement.
The FY 2024 budget request for the ATF totals $1.9 billion, which is a 7.4% increase over the FY23 enacted level.
The primary criminal enforcement mission of the ATF is to protect the public from violent crime. And while the ATF's budget request attempts to assure us its resources are directed toward the most serious offenses and most dangerous criminals, some recent decisions tell another story.
Many folks are justifiably concerned about sweeping, seemingly poorly reasoned, new rules emanating from the ATF in recent months.
Administrator Power, thank you for being here today to discuss the fiscal year 2024 budget request for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Before I get into the details of the budget, I want to take a moment to thank the men and women of USAID, including the Foreign Service Nationals and the staff of your implementing partners, for their efforts to make the world a better place.
We don't say it enough, but we appreciate their service, and yours, Administrator Power, so please convey those thanks on behalf of our Subcommittee.
