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Good morning and welcome to the Subcommittee markup of the fiscal year 2013 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.
I want to begin by thanking Ranking Member Lowey for her continued dedication to this Subcommittee. Mrs. Lowey and I have a unique relationship. While we do not agree on everything, we do have a strong working relationship and we are both invested in the important work of this Subcommittee. It is a pleasure to work with her and I respect her very much.
I want to thank all the Members of our Subcommittee – from both sides of the aisle - for their participation and thoughtful contributions to this bill. Members have been passionately engaged in the important work of the Subcommittee.
I am pleased to begin the consideration of H.R. 5326, making appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. The bill provides funding for programs whose impacts range from the safety of people in their homes and communities to the farthest reaches of space.
The bill before the House today reflects a delicate balancing of needs and requirements. We have drafted what I consider to be a responsible bill for FY 2013 spending levels for the departments and agencies under the subcommittee's jurisdiction. We've had to carefully prioritize the funding in this bill and have had to make hard choices about how to spend scarce revenue.
Thank you, Chairman Aderholt and Ranking Member Price. As we meet today to address the funding of the Department of Homeland Security, I wish to extend my congratulations to both of you and the subcommittee staffs on both sides who have put in long hours to craft this important piece of legislation.
This week, we mark the one-year anniversary of Seal Team Six's surgical removal of America's number one terrorist target, Osama bin Laden. While this is certainly cause for salutation, we cannot rest on our laurels. When we also learned that the CIA this week foiled a plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner, we were reminded that our country, our freedom and our way of life remain under constant siege - and our job is not done.
I thank the Chairwoman for yielding, and I congratulate her and Ranking Member Lowey on producing a fiscal year 2013 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill. The Chairwoman, Ranking Member, and staff on both sides have worked tirelessly to bring this important legislation before the subcommittee today.
Unquestionably, the fiscal situation confronting our nation is of the utmost importance to our national and economic security. The unsustainable trajectory of federal spending in recent years has left us in a precarious situation. With our debt-to GDP ratio at a startling 100%, it is becoming even more abundantly clear that we cannot spend our way out of continuing economic woes.
