Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

I want to thank Chairman Aderholt for presenting the Fiscal Year 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. I appreciate the work he has done on this bill.

The bill works to responsibly fund programs that help improve the health and lives of the American people.

It also holds agencies accountable when there has been a history of poor performance or controversial activities.

As we work toward the goal of reducing overall spending, I want to thank the Chairman for finding ways to best use limited resources to support our highest priorities.

Specifically, this bill continues to fund important programs that improve public health and safety, such as critical medical research and drug abuse prevention and treatment programs.

It also focuses on investments in education to develop our future workforce and remain competitive with the rest of the world.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. This morning we will consider a bill funding these agencies for Fiscal Year 2024. I am pleased to chair this Subcommittee and provide support for important programs that touch the lives of every American.

I don't pretend this is a perfect bill, no bill in Congress is ever a perfect bill.

But we live in difficult times, our nation remains mired in high inflation, which has only been worsened by the massive infusion of government spending, both during and immediately after the COVID pandemic.

Good morning. I am pleased to welcome today the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration to talk about the Provider Relief Fund and healthcare workforce issues in general.

The Provider Relief Fund was originally created in the CARES Act to reimburse health care providers for increased expenses or lost revenue as a result of COVID lockdowns and COVID treatments.

I think the original intent of the Fund was commendable. We wanted to maintain a robust, high-quality healthcare system in the face of a novel pandemic. We also needed to ensure that providers were able to continue care, despite the many challenges and unknowns posed by COVID.

Thank you, Chairman Cole and Ranking Member McGovern, for allowing me to testify on the Limit, Save, Grow Act.

I want to start by thanking Speaker McCarthy, Leader Scalise, Ways and Means Chairman Smith, and Budget Chairman Arrington for their hard work on this bill.

I hope the President will come to the table and work with us to ensure our nation does not default on our debt.

I want to highlight one very straightforward idea included in this package: to rescind funds that are not needed at this time and redirect them to other priorities.

For example, as much as $60 billion that was appropriated more than two years ago for COVID remains unspent.

Now that the national emergency is officially over, we should be able to take back those resources.

There is also no reason for the IRS to be holding on to billions of dollars for future years.