Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, I rise in reluctant support of H.R. 2250, a bill to fund the operations of the U.S. House of Representatives for 2016 and for other purposes.

In these times of needed fiscal discipline, everyone must do their part. We are bound by funding caps and, though the president has put forward a blueprint to address sequestration, the Republican leadership has chosen to disregard the plan. As a result, appropriators have produced a bill that makes deep cuts to agencies and programs that support the legislative branch when compared to the president's request.

H.R. 2250 provides a total of $3.341 billion for vital House and House affiliated functions as well as for greater Congressional operations. This is a reduction from the president's request of $200 million. Within the total available funding, $492.2 million is provided for the Architect of the Capitol which oversees maintenance and repairs of House and Senate office buildings in addition to many other important buildings in the Congressional complex. Excluding Senate items, this is an $84 million reduction in funding for maintenance of the Capitol Visitor Center, the Capitol Grounds, the Library of Congress and the U.S. Botanical Garden. $591.4 million is provided in the bill to fund Library of Congress (LOC) operations. In addition to being the repository of the nation's print and recorded media, the LOC serves as the research arm of Congress, helping to inform the legislative debate on Capitol Hill. This bill cuts its funding by $33 million below the president's request. The bill also reduces funding for the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO functions as the ``congressional watchdog'' by investigating how federal agencies spend American taxpayer dollars. This bill funds GAO at $522 million, which is $31 million less than the president's request. H.R. 2250 does increase funding for the Capitol Police when compared to enacted funding levels, but the increase is actually a $10 million cut when compared to the president's request.

I believe spending taxpayer dollars carefully should always be a priority of Congress, and seeking ways to reduce government spending should also be a priority. There are funding reductions in the bill that I support, including the pay freeze for Members of Congress. But the American people expect us to make wise cuts. They don't want us cutting for the sake of cutting--especially when vital services may be impacted. The president's budget contained a strategy to address sequestration that would have made many of these cuts unnecessary. I regret that my Republican colleagues chose to ignore it.

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