Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it, which would eliminate funds for official receptions within the Department of the Interior.

Our national debt is quickly approaching $34 trillion, and yet wasteful and unnecessary spending is still rampant in our Federal Government. The American taxpayers deserve to know that their hard- earned money is being spent responsibly and conservatively, but the underlying bill still includes thousands of taxpayer dollars for government operations that are neither relevant nor essential for the success of our Nation in the Department of the Interior.

One such account is the receptions and representation expense account, which provides funds for hosting cocktail receptions and catering for Department of the Interior events. Our Department of the Interior should not be holding such events as the Department's actions simultaneously jeopardize our Nation's energy security.

For example, earlier this year, the Department of the Interior announced its plans to withdraw millions of acres within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, as well as efforts to cancel the lawfully awarded leases to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority within the nonwilderness coastal plain that were issued in early 2021, as required by law. It is ridiculous that the Biden administration is penalizing Alaska's right to produce more oil but allows Iran to produce more of its oil while Iranian-sponsored terrorists wage war on Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East.

It is abundantly clear that the Biden administration--in this case, the Department of the Interior--needs to reevaluate its priorities and put America first. These individuals should not be rewarded with taxpayer funds to pay for cocktail receptions while advocating against American security amidst a dire debt crisis.

When it comes to budgeting, every little bit counts. We need to clawback all wasteful spending and unnecessary spending to get our fiscal house in order.

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Chair, eliminating official reception funds is not a new or novel idea. We should be fiscally responsible with every solitary dollar that we spend. We eliminated almost a half a million dollars of official reception funds in the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriation. Of that half million, $284,000 was in the FBI, $36,000 was in the ATF, and $50,000 in the Office of the United States Attorney, among other amounts.

This is only $15,000, not a huge amount of money, but every dollar counts. We must be fiscally responsible in every area, especially regarding money spent on cocktail receptions.

Who can forget the picture of the GSA official, Jeffrey Neely, pictured in the hot tub with a wine glass in Las Vegas. That was a complete abuse of funds.

This is $15,000 that will be going to the funding reduction account. We will be saving $15,000. We do not need a reception fund in the Department of the Interior for them to do their job better.

Mr. Chair, I encourage my colleagues to support my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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