Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Statement

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to present the second Fiscal Year 2017 Continuing Resolution this year, which will fund the Federal Government through April 28 of 2017.

This bill is a necessary measure to continue vital government programs and services, like our national defense. It keeps the lights on in our government, preventing the uncertainty and harm of a shutdown. Our current continuing resolution expires tomorrow, so we must act today.

This continuing resolution is a responsible compromise, making only limited adjustments where required to preserve the security of the Nation, to prevent serious lapses in government services, and to ensure the careful expenditure of taxpayer dollars.

To highlight a few of these changes: we take care of our troops by increasing overseas contingency operations resources, and include provisions that accelerate production rates for critical defense equipment and systems, like the Ohio replacement submarine, the Apache helicopter, and the KC-46A tanker. The bill also maintains adequate funding for the Department of Homeland Security to keep our Nation safe.

In addition to these changes, the bill includes necessary funding to help communities recover from recent natural disasters, like Hurricane Matthew, flooding in States like Louisiana and West Virginia, and devastating droughts.

The legislation also includes $170 million for important health and water infrastructure improvements, as well as $872 million for the House-passed 21st Century Cures Act, including $500 million to respond to the opioid abuse epidemic. These items are both fully offset.

As I have said on this floor many times over the past 6 years, standing in this exact spot, a continuing resolution is a last resort.

It is not what I would prefer to bring to the floor as my final bill as chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
At the end of the day, a CR is simply a Band-Aid on a gushing wound.

This is no way to run a railroad. It is bad for Congress, bad for the Federal Government, and bad for our country. A CR extends outdated policies and funding levels, wasting money, and preventing good changes from being made. A CR also creates uncertainty in Federal budgets and in our economy. Lastly, it diminishes the Congress' power of the purse, giving away the people's voice in how the government uses their tax dollars.

I truly hope that in the near future we can stop lurching from CR to CR and return to regular order, for the sake of our national security, our economy, and the well-being of all Americans.

However, at this point, this is our best and only path forward. It is absolutely imperative that we complete the work on the 11 remaining appropriations bills as soon as possible when Congress returns.

This is a good bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the CR.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Yes, that is my understanding. Just across the river from you, in my home State of Kentucky, there are thousands of retired miners who will be impacted by the expiration of these healthcare benefits, many of them in my district. These miners have worked hard their entire lives to earn these benefits, and they deserve to know that the promises made to them, while working day in and day out in the mines, will be honored.

I am committed to working with you and other Members representing coal country to arrive at a lasting solution to this problem in the new Congress and to provide some lasting relief to our coalfields, which have suffered so much in the last 8 years.

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