Conference Report on H.R. Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this three-cornered minibus before us. It is really the opening pitch of 12 bills of which we are a part, and it partially funds our Nation's energy and water development requirements; military construction; the legislative branch; and, of course, programs to serve our Nation's veterans who put their lives in service to liberty at home and abroad every day.

Please let me thank Chairman Frelinghuysen, Ranking Member Lowey, and our very able subcommittee chair, Mike Simpson, as well as our committee staff for their tireless efforts to bring this first set of appropriation bills over the finish line.

Though it is fair to say Republican leaders took the long way to a bipartisan agreement, we now find ourselves passing three appropriations bills before the October 1 deadline of the beginning of the new fiscal year. Something that should not be a momentous occasion has thus turned into one.

While I don't think that our subcommittee deserves a pat on the back for simply doing our job, let me note that this is an achievement we have not seen in many, many years with our bill, Energy and Water Development. This House must move toward regular order again, and this sets the pace.

Our specific title contributes to ensuring the critical availability of energy and water for our Nation's domestic stability, as well as our national security, not just for today, but for the tomorrows to come.

America has made enormous strides in increasing our energy independence to close to 90 percent in the short term. No bill is more important than this one in reaching 100 percent independence as the strategic goal for our Nation. But it is not yet time to declare mission accomplished. Future energy security is the ultimate goal we must continue to strive for.

The nearly $7 billion in funding also in this bill for the Army Corps of Engineers will ensure continued forward progress across all project areas. The Corps can contribute mightily to infrastructure investment for modernization and job creation across our Nation. The Corps' role in essential flood control is critical as we watch the approach of Hurricane Florence and we think about navigation and the responsibilities of the Corps, as well as environmental restoration.

I am grateful for the chairman's continued partnership to address the Asian carp threat to our freshwater Great Lakes ecosystem, as well as for funding to keep our Great Lakes ports open to shippers. Our Nation has a wonderful navigation system that drives economic investment and undergirds our essential industrial manufacturing base.

This bill makes many other important investments for our Nation, including reversing the misguided cuts to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the House bill. The compromise yielded an additional $57 million to sustain the momentum to rapidly falling prices for wind and solar energy as critical to achieving an all-of-the-above energy platform.

This funding also allows us to continue investing in the Office of Advanced Manufacturing, vehicles technology, and bioenergy. These programs are an investment in clean energy technologies, and they drive our global leadership in innovation and set us on the path for continuing job creation.

This bill strongly funds programs that were eliminated in the President's budget, including weatherization assistance to conserve energy and the path-breaking office of the Department of Energy's advanced research, ARPA-E, which unlocks science to build our future and the progress that goes with it.

Additionally, harmful, controversial policy riders that have no place in this bill were removed. One dealt with the waters of the U.S., and one would interfere with an ongoing judicial process. Both would have seriously hindered passage of this bill.

With regard to funding the VA, I am concerned we have set ourselves on a course for another self-inflicted crisis when funding for the VA MISSION Act runs out. Our veterans deserve the best treatment in the world, not to have their care used as a political weapon for partisan gain.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleagues and friends from the committee, Chairmen Simpson and Frelinghuysen, and Ranking Member Lowey, for their persistent leadership for our Nation, and to the Senate for bringing such a good example of bipartisanship, which I hope we can continue.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this package.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source