Financial Services and General Government (112th Congress)
Thank you all for being here today. After many long hours of debate yesterday, I appreciate your timeliness and readiness coming into today's meeting.
Today, we are marking up our tenth bill of the fiscal year 2013 season, the Financial Services and General Government bill. This bill is the latest in our series of bills that work to help balance our budgets and reduce federal discretionary spending to responsible, sustainable levels. Already, since January 2011, the Appropriations Committee has led the way to cut discretionary spending by more than $95 billion, and we've continued this trend in the bills we've considered so far this year.
The Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee has jurisdiction over a diverse group of agencies and activities including financial regulators, tax collections, the White House, the Federal courts, DC, GSA and the Small Business Administration.
The bill we are considering today provides $21.15 billion which is $376 million or 1.7% less than fiscal year 2012. Compared to fiscal year 2010, the allocation is a reduction of 12.6% or $3 billion. The bill includes sufficient funds for agencies to complete their work while forcing them to continue to find ways to become more efficient.
The funding priorities in the bill include the drug task forces, public safety and education in the District of Columbia, and Treasury's antiterrorism and financial intelligence activities.
Welcome to the mark up of the fiscal year 2013 Financial Services and General Government bill. As you know, this Subcommittee has jurisdiction over a diverse group of agencies and activities including financial regulators, tax collections, the White House, the Federal courts, DC, GSA and the Small Business Administration.
The bill we are considering today provides $21.15 billion which is $376 million or 1.7% less than fiscal year 2012 and $2 billion below the request. Compared to fiscal year 2010, the allocation is a reduction of 12.6% or $3 billion. The bill includes sufficient funds for agencies to complete their work while forcing them to continue to find ways to become more efficient.
The funding priorities in the bill include the drug task forces, public safety and education in the District of Columbia, and Treasury's antiterrorism and financial intelligence activities.
I thank the Chairwoman for yielding, and I congratulate her, Ranking Member Serrano, and the entire Subcommittee and its staff on producing a strong Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2013.
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.
