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Opening Statement
Ranking Member Jerry Lewis
July 15, 2010
Mark Up of the Fiscal Year 2011 Energy & Water Appropriations Bill
“Mr. Chairman, I’m pleased that we’re marking up the 8th of our 12 appropriations bills this afternoon. I thank the Chairmanand Ranking Member Frelinghuysen for convening this subcommittee today.
As I have mentioned at each of our markups thus far, I remain deeply concerned that the House and Senate still have not, at this late date, sent an emergency spending bill to the President providing critical funding for our troops; foreign assistance and economic support for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq; FEMA disaster assistance; oil spill cleanup assistance; and relief for Haiti.
It’s especially troubling to me that we’re sitting here in mid-July without this supplemental spending bill passed and signed into law. Funding levels for our troops are now approaching the critical stage. The President submitted his request in February of this year. The Senate passed a clean war funding measure on May 27th. That was 50 days ago.
By the time Democrat leaders circumvented this Committee and passed their version of the supplemental two weeks ago, it had been loaded up with billions in extraneous spending unrelated to the President’s request. Frankly, many of the items included in the House package could have been—and should have been—addressed through our regular order appropriations process.
We are quickly reaching the point where congressional inaction will force our commanders to begin making budget decisions that could compromise our military readiness in the field. This would signal to our enemies a lack of resolve that could undermine our mission in several very dangerous areas of the world.
In fact, yesterday, a Pentagon spokesperson told the media that without immediate action on the supplemental, Army and Marine Corps accounts will run dry in August. He also stated that the Pentagon will then have to take extreme measures… including asking people to report to duty without pay.
I cannot imagine a more discouraging and disrespectful way to treat our troops who are putting everything on line for our country.
I know my Democrat colleagues will say this Supplemental is now in the hands of the Senate, but the fact is that it is their insistence on adding extraneous items to this critical legislation that has held up this bill for six months and counting. If the Democrat leadership of the House would just let a clean supplemental come to the floor, thebill could be on the President’s desk and the funding could be in the hands of our military commanders by next week.
If there is no way forward movement on a clean supplemental by next week’s full committee markups – if they occur – I mayamend or substitute one of the bills being marked up with the clean Senate supplemental.
My other main concern, of course, is the rate at which our Committee continues to spend. Just last week the Treasury Department announced that the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion with three months left in the present fiscal year, paving the way for a $1.4 trillion deficit by the end of the year. And to make matters worse, the Federal Reserve yesterday announced that it cut its expectations for economic recovery this quarter.
Anyone around this table who has been in their district lately knows that increasing levels of government spending, soaring deficits, and record debt is sparking unprecedented levels of public anger. But it isn’t just voters back home that are warning us of the dangers of excessive spending.
Erskine Bowles, one of the co-chairs of the President’s national debt commission, described the impact of runaway spending to the National Governor’s Association on July 11th. “The debt is like a cancer,” he said. “It’s going to destroy the country from within.”
As Members of this committee, I believe we have an obligation to begin focusing seriously on curbing spending. We will have that opportunity today through several amendments I intend to offer to demonstrate our willingness—or lack of willingness—to begin making some tough spending decisions.
In the seven previous subcommittee mark ups this year, Committee Republicans have already offered several amendments to cut spending by a total of roughly $19 billion in fiscal year 2011, and $72 billion over the next ten years. Not one of these amendments have garnered a single Democrat vote.
The two mark ups today will offer more opportunities for my Democrat colleagues to join with us to vote for spending cuts. It is my sincere hope that our Democratic colleagues on this subcommittee will cast off stubborn partisanship and support these amendments. I know that at times it takes significant political courage to cross the aisle and cast votes that limit spending. But –during this time of great economic uncertainty – this kind of courage is exactly what your constituents want, and what our country needs.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your courtesy and yield back the balance of my time.”
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