Legislative Branch

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill to provide funding for the heroes in our National Guard and Capitol Police, as well as the brave people of Afghanistan who supported our troops overseas.

While I am disappointed that it has taken this long to reach an agreement, the bill before us today is a strong package that deserves our support.

This bill:

• Reimburses the National Guard, the Capitol Police, and their law enforcement partners for the cost they incurred for their heroic efforts on January 6th; and
• Addresses safety and security concerns by providing necessary improvements to the Capitol complex.

The bill also provides much-needed assistance to our partners who supported our military during the war in Afghanistan.

This is a good bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 4346, the fiscal year 2022 Legislative Branch appropriations bill.

I wish I could support this important piece of legislation, but unfortunately, it has too many flaws, and it does not reflect the type of bipartisan agreement that we must have to complete the appropriations process this year.

At a time of record-high deficits and debt, now is not the time to double-down on increasing domestic spending.

This bill alone includes a nearly 13% increase over current levels.

The bill also includes riders that are more appropriately addressed by authorizing committees, specifically related to immigration policy.

In addition, the committee report is loaded with unnecessary, partisan requirements for the Capitol Police that will make it more difficult for them to carry out their mission.

Madam Chair, thank you for yielding.

The revised spending allocations presented today contain only technical corrections to the initial allocations, which were adopted on a party-line vote two weeks ago.

Because there are no substantive changes from the initial allocations, I must once again oppose them.

They do not change the topline spending levels for any of the subcommittee bills – even though Members on my side of the aisle have consistently asked for bipartisan cooperation on funding levels.

These spending levels continue to short-change our national defense, while providing huge increases to domestic programs. Non-defense spending would increase by nearly 17% overall, and some agencies would receive unprecedented 30-40% increases above fiscal year 2021.

Underfunding our national defense while giving such extreme increases to domestic programs is unacceptable to Members on my side of the aisle.

Madam Chair, thank you for yielding.

These spending allocations will increase discretionary spending by hundreds of billions of dollars to an all-time high of $1.5 trillion.

This nearly 9% increase above fiscal year 2021 comes at a time of record-high deficits and debt:

• This month, the national debt reached an astonishing $28.3 trillion.
• In the first 8 months of this fiscal year, we have already borrowed $2.1 trillion.

We must exercise fiscal responsibility and return to reasonable levels of federal spending, now that the pandemic hopefully is nearing an end.

Although these allocations do not show the exact split between defense and non-defense programs, we know the topline is based on the president's budget. Those numbers included an enormous, 17% increase to non-defense programs. At the same time, the president's budget cut defense spending to below inflation.

Thank you, Madam Chair, for yielding.

I want to thank Chairman Ryan and Ranking Member Herrera-Beutler for the work they have done to address critical issues that affect the Congress.

This bill before us today takes steps to make the House of Representatives more effective, efficient, and transparent on behalf of the American people.

This bill recognizes the service and sacrifice of our Capitol Police and supports the department's evolving mission.

This bill also allows the Architect of the Capitol to maintain and better protect the Capitol Complex, as well as promote the health and safety of the people who work and visit here.

Unfortunately, I have concerns that will prevent me from supporting this bill in its current form.

This bill is based on a funding framework that the Majority Party developed without Republican support.

I want to begin by thanking the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Ryan, for presenting the fiscal year 2022 Legislative Branch appropriations bill.

I also want to recognize the ranking member, Ms. Herrera Beutler.

Over the last six months, I have seen the dedication you both have given to solving issues important to all Members of Congress. You have truly worked overtime, and we are grateful for your service on this subcommittee.

This bill before us today takes steps to make the House of Representatives more effective, efficient, and transparent on behalf of the American people.

This bill recognizes the service and sacrifice of our Capitol Police. It increases personnel benefits, grows the workforce of sworn and civilian personnel, and provides critical training and resources to safely carry out the department's evolving mission.