Full committee

The recommendation for FY 2013 provides $3.3 billion, excluding Senate items, which are traditionally left to the Senate to determine. This is a decrease of $34.4 million, or 1% from the FY 2012 enacted level and a decrease of $190 million, or 5.3% from the requested level.

Americans are sending hard-earned dollars to Washington and deserve to know they are being cost-effectively spent. This Subcommittee has taken that philosophy to heart in hearings and meetings where members have listened to agency heads lay out their priorities and budget requests. We've made tough, but workable choices that will allow our agencies to move forward in an efficient manner.

Since becoming Chair of the Subcommittee last year, we have cut the spending by 7.9% and with this mark we will bring that cut to 8.8% excluding the Senate.

Thank you, Chairman Crenshaw and Ranking Member Honda for your hard work on the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2013. I wish to extend my congratulations to each of you and the subcommittee staffs on both sides who have put in long hours to craft this important piece of legislation.

I thank the Chairman for yielding.

I want to begin by thanking Ranking Member Lowey for her continued dedication to the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee. Mrs. Lowey and I have a unique relationship. While we do not agree on everything, we do have a strong working relationship 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.

The bill before us saves taxpayer dollars by spending 9 percent less than last year. We do this by terminating ten programs, rescinding funds, and not providing new appropriations if funds are still in the pipeline.

At the same time this bill supports critical activities related to our national security, such as assistance for Israel and Mexico.

Thank you both for your remarks, and I congratulate you on producing a solid Appropriations bill and for bringing this bill to the Full Committee. It's a sign of the important progress we have made in making the appropriations process more open, transparent and thorough.

Another achievement of this Committee has been our unprecedented success in reining in federal spending. For two fiscal years in a row, we cut discretionary spending below the previous year – more than $95 billion – without decimating the programs and services our citizens rely on, and we are on track to continue that trend this year.

Thank you, Ranking Member Bishop and Chairman Culberson, for your comments and for your hard work in crafting this bill.

One of our many tasks on this Committee is to ensure the health and well-being of those who proudly serve and have served in our nation's great military, and though I do not always see eye-to-eye with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, this task is one we can all support without hesitation.

Our troops, veterans and military families deserve to have the programs and services they have earned as a result of their service and sacrifice. The FY 2013 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill is funded at the same level as last year - $71.7 billion in discretionary funding. This bill provides for the most urgent needs of our nation's veterans and active military members, and supports Department of Defense construction here and abroad.

Thank you, Chairman Aderholt and Ranking Member Price, for your remarks and your skillful work on this bill. As a founding member of this subcommittee, I'm fully aware of the intricacies and time needed to craft such an important piece of legislation, and thanks to you and your staffs, we have a comprehensive, well-written bill before us today.

Since the Department was established nearly ten years ago, we've seen some real progress. Not only have we marked the one-year anniversary of Seal Team Six's successful mission eliminating our number-one terrorist target Osama Bin Laden, but we continue to make visible strides protecting air passengers, securing our borders, and thwarting terrorist threats.

But we are constantly reminded the war on terror is far from over. We must remain vigilant and ahead of the game.