Haiti Development, Accountability, and Institutional Transparency Initiative Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his hard work on this arduous project, this omnibus bill. I also want to extend my thanks to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, Chair DeLauro and Chair Roybal-Allard, for their hard work.
We disagree with many of the things that the majority has put forth in this, but we in the minority have gotten a lot of key wins for the American people in this bill.
Coming over, Mr. Speaker, tonight on a cold, damp Washington evening, I was thinking about what I would say. This is a job well done.
I rise in support of this bill. This is not the bill that I would have written. This is certainly not the bill that the majority would have written.
Within this beltway, within this town, we have a dialect. We have a Washington-speak sometimes that should and does befuddle the American people. So, tonight is time for straight talk. Straight talk means that the needs of our Nation, the needs of the United States of America, change on an annual basis. The world doesn't stay the same.
A few weeks ago, the world changed for the worse when Russia invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Things change. Priorities change. Funding needs change.
That is why, as appropriators, we come together every year and, ideally, address the Nation's changing needs--whether in defense; education; Department of Energy; and, in my case, homeland security--to address the needs of the American people.
Now, this is an omnibus bill, ``omni'' from the Greek meaning ``all,'' not ``cromni'' meaning ``some,'' but ``all.''
Now, think about that. In one of the most partisan-charged times in American history, Republicans and Democrats, Senators and Members of the House, and the White House can come together and forge an agreement that gets all 12 bills done.
To the American people watching, this is an accomplishment. It is not perfect. Of course, it is not.
Now, the priorities that I champion in this bill, $1.9 billion to build the wall--very important. I know the majority doesn't like that. We got that in.
The Iron Dome, I stood in this Chamber a few months ago, and I bellowed at the majority for stripping that out. I was very upset that day, and I knew a lot of people in the majority wanted Iron Dome in there like all the Republicans did as well. We got that in this bill. Our beloved ally, Israel, will now be able to defend itself with the Iron Dome.
Our great United States Coast Guard will be getting more ships and more funding in the homeland bill. ICE beds will be funded.
There are a lot of key priorities. Yes, I respectfully and strongly disagreed with Chair DeLauro when she was talking about her opposition to the Hyde amendment, and she has a right to her opinion. That is what is great about this Chamber.
But we have the Hyde protections in this bill to protect the unborn. That is law in America, and that will remain law in America, those Hyde protections to make sure that the right to life, that sacred right to life--that abortions are never paid for by the American taxpayer.
So it was a compromise. There were some things in this bill, obviously, that I don't particularly care for, but key missions through the Department of Energy in my beloved city of Oak Ridge--my goodness, when we vote for this, please know that in the Department of Energy, the NNSA, the National Nuclear Security Administration that is in the Department of Energy, funds to keep our Nation's nuclear arsenal safe and secure, the funding is there for the uranium processing facility, $600 million.
So this is a compromise bill. There is no question about that. But think about this, my friends in the majority and in the minority, to all of the staff who worked tirelessly to get this bill done, this is not easy work because of the bona fide differences that exist between the parties.
We have gotten it done for the American people. No, it is not perfect. But, yes, it is good. It is going to help the people of Ukraine. It is going to help our country move forward.
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