Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Chair, I thank the distinguished Republican ranking member on the committee for this time but also, more importantly, for her wise leadership of this committee.

Mr. Chair, I rise in reluctant opposition to H.R. 2740, the first appropriations measure to be considered by the House for fiscal year 2020.

In February, while completing the fiscal year 2019 appropriations process, I began my remarks by drawing attention to the crisis at our southern border. Four months later, the crisis is even worse, and the bill we have before us today would only throw fuel on the fire.

Our committee prides itself on staying above the partisan fray, but this package significantly constrains the administration's ability to respond appropriately. The partisan policy riders are misguided and dangerous.

In addition to these substantive problems, the bill before us today provides funding for numerous departments and agencies without a bipartisan, bicameral budget agreement supported by the President.

Budget uncertainty is nothing new, but overall spending increases of this magnitude are neither realistic nor sustainable without a plan.

While this package does provide modest increases for total defense spending, it is still $17 billion below the President's request, risking the great strides we have made to rebuild our military.

Despite these challenges, Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger have worked hard to tackle many problems this year. Just yesterday, for example, we marked up the last two appropriations bills in full committee.

As ranking member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, I offer my thanks to Chairwoman Lowey for her collaboration. I am pleased that the chair decided to lead our subcommittee, in addition to her duties of chairing the full committee, given our long relationship. She cares deeply about these programs and, despite our differences, remains a reliable partner.

Division D, the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2020, includes $48 billion in base funding. That is nearly a 5 percent increase over fiscal year 2019. With the additional $8 billion in overseas contingency operations, OCO, the total is $56.3 billion.

Within that total, this bill includes funding for many key priorities that are critical to our national security. Chief among them is $3.3 billion in foreign military financing for Israel. We don't need to look further than the recent headlines to understand how important and timely our support is for Israel's security.

The bill also maintains funding at last year's level for other close partners in the region, including Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia.

Another shared priority is the safety of our diplomats and development experts serving abroad. This bill supports those efforts with robust funding for embassy security.

Funding is also included to strengthen our efforts on the international front to combat the flow of drugs into our country. Overdose deaths, Mr. Chair, from synthetic opioids like fentanyl jumped 45 percent in just 1 year from 2016 to 2017, increasing in all demographics and virtually every State.

We should all be concerned that cocaine and methamphetamine use in the U.S. is climbing again at an alarming rate.

Funding is provided in the bill to help Colombia better control its coca production as counternarcotics efforts are redoubled in the region. We need to get this drug epidemic, this calamity, under control, and I believe this funding is a step in the right direction.

Despite these worthy investments, partisan policy riders included in this portion of the bill mean it has no hope of becoming the law of the land. Sweeping measures, like those that overturn the President's expanded Mexico City policy, go well beyond what was done previously.

The bill also prohibits funds from being used to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and allows for a contribution to the unauthorized Green Climate Fund. The President is well within his authority to back out of this agreement that would cost billions of American jobs, harm domestic manufacturing, and damage our growing economy.

I look forward to debating amendments on these and other issues in the bill.

Therefore, without a budget agreement, in light of partisan riders blocking pro-life policies and overturning bipartisan agreements on climate change, as well as efforts to undermine an adequate response to the crisis at our southern border, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.

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