OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 9, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Operations

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the fiscal year 2019 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill as an effective vehicle for reopening the Federal Government agencies that are funded by this bill as expeditiously as possible.

The legislation before the House today is vitally important to ensuring the Federal Government and the U.S. economy can work for the American people. It safeguards our financial system, ensures a fair playing field for taxpayers, supports new businesses, cultivates the vibrancy and effectiveness of our telecommunications system, safeguards our workers, provides for the safety of our products, and protects the integrity of our elections.

Among the agencies funded under the bill are the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Election Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Small Business Administration.

With this current, unnecessary, misguided government shutdown, the agencies responsible for these objectives are not able to fulfill their mission for the American people.

Hundreds of thousands of Federal workers are being furloughed without pay; consumer help lines are going unanswered due to a lack of staff; enforcement activities are being suspended; and loans from the Small Business Administration are not being processed. In addition, with the closure of the Federal Election Commission, reports of political malfeasance are not being investigated.

And of great significance, without this funding, millions of Americans will not be able to have their tax returns processed so that they can receive the refunds on which they rely to make purchases and pay bills and school tuition. These refunds, when spent by taxpayers, contribute immensely to the national economy, creating and maintaining countless jobs.

As a member of the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation, which passed the Senate last month on a bipartisan vote of 92-6.

Let's reopen these agencies and put the government back to work for the people, for the American people.

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