Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 4502.

Before I get into the details of division E, the Interior and Environment section of the bill, I want to thank Chairwoman DeLauro and Ranking Member Granger for their leadership on the Appropriations Committee.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Chellie Pingree, the chair of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Chair Pingree has been an excellent leader, and I am glad I have had the opportunity to serve alongside her as ranking member on the subcommittee.

The fiscal year 2022 Interior and Environment bill includes many bipartisan initiatives to conserve and protect our Nation's natural and cultural resources and to increase the Federal commitment to honor our treaties and trust responsibilities with American Indians and Alaska Natives.

I am grateful for my home district in Ohio, and the States in the Great Lakes Basin, that the bill provides increased funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. This funding is critical to our work to restore and protect the lakes for future generations.

Robust funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is essential as we continue our efforts with Federal, State, Tribal, local, and nonprofit partners to delist Areas of Concern, address shoreline erosion, improve water quality, prevent harmful algal blooms, and control invasive species.

I am also especially pleased that the bill makes critical investments in Indian Country, a longstanding bipartisan priority of this subcommittee.

The $12.1 billion across the bill will help support healthcare, education, law enforcement, and other operational programs throughout Indian Country.

Chair Pingree and her staff have worked hard to accommodate requests from Members on both sides of the aisle in this bill that will be appreciated by our constituents, regardless of party.

Unfortunately, while I am supportive of the bipartisan components of the bill, I am unable to support the bill in its current form.

First and foremost, the bill adds several new controversial policy riders that would curtail U.S. energy independence by limiting conventional energy and natural resource development.

Limiting our domestic supplies of much-needed natural resources does not decrease our demand for them; it only makes us more dependent upon foreign nations to obtain them, which is not only a national security concern but also an economic security, environmental, and human rights concern.

Our economy continues to depend upon on an all-of-the-above energy strategy, and these added provisions would undermine our ability to meet that demand.

Similar riders were dropped from the final conference agreement last year, and the same must be done again before the bill can be signed into law.

The Interior bill also eliminates or weakens several longstanding provisions that were once again enacted on a bipartisan basis last year. Adding these provisions back will be essential to reaching a bipartisan agreement.

The bill before us today proposes a $7 billion increase in discretionary spending, with many agencies receiving double-digit percent increases.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress has provided trillions of dollars in economic stimulus and relief to help Americans tackle unique challenges.

On the heels of this unprecedented spending, as we continue to restore our way of life and reignite our economy, it is imperative that the Federal Government makes the tough choices necessary to live within its means.

So it is for a combination of these funding and policy reasons that I cannot support this bill at this time and in its current form.

Madam Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this package.

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