Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. I thank the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee for yielding.

I rise obviously in very strong support of this continuing resolution and the three full bills that are attached to it and the other nine of course that will be funded at last year's level with certain exceptions that are necessary to act responsibly. Obviously, passing a CR is never an ideal step.

I want to say that as someone who served on the Appropriations Committee for 23 years, actually 25 years, I guess, I hold that committee in very high regard. And I am pleased that I am following the Representative from Kentucky, the ranking member of this committee, as he spoke not only about the substance of the bill that he has been most intimately involved in, but as well of the respect that he and the chairman have for one another and the ability they have to work together. I think it has been one of the hallmarks of the Appropriations Committee that has been possible.

Regrettably, however, very frankly from my perspective, forces outside of the context of the Appropriations Committee, for whatever reasons, whether they are from the administration or from each of our caucuses, has undermined that ability of the committee to work the way it has worked and wants to work.

No one in this body is more attuned to the needs of this body, loves this institution more, is more a student of this institution, and very frankly is a better legislator than the chairman of this committee, my friend, David Obey. I want to congratulate him for the extraordinary patience, and he is not known as a patient man, which makes his patience even more extraordinary, that he has been working on a bill that has been so frustrating for him, as well as the committee and the Congress.

The CR does contain a number of important funding provisions: an increase in the Home Energy Assistance Program which the chairman has been involved in all of his congressional career, which spans some 3 1/2 , almost 4 decades. It helps families heat their houses during a winter of high fuel costs.

It includes funding for Pell Grants to ensure that college aid is not cut in the middle of the school year so that our students will have access to college; and nutrition funding for women and children struggling with the economic downturn and food prices that confront them.

Nevertheless, we are debating, frankly, a CR today because we did not complete the appropriations process. I think that is regrettable. I hope we do not repeat that next year. I see Mr. Wamp shaking his head as a ranking member. I think everybody on the Appropriations Committee wants to make sure that we can complete our process next year. And I think we can.

Very frankly, we were confronted, the chairman was confronted with an administration who wanted to limit funding, frankly, far below what was possible in order to meet the responsibilities that we have to this Nation and to our people.

Today's outcome was a direct result, in my opinion, of the White House's unwillingness to come to the table to discuss funding levels for priorities, to determine what those priorities are, whether they be the National Institutes of Health, whether they be vocational education programs, whether they be protecting our environment; or, very frankly, whether they be overseeing in a regulatory way the financial community, the failure of which has led us to a very critical time in our country's history.

There were 20 programs eliminated. Congress did not agree with all of those. The administration would have slashed funds for crumbling infrastructure, law enforcement, for energy research. Those are items which could have been debated and should have been debated and brought to this floor, but because there was no flexibility, that did not occur.

Simply saying, We'll adopt your priorities, Mr. President, is inconsistent with article I of the Constitution which gives to the 435 of us that have been elected by the people of this country to come and to set priorities for our country. We do so in a representative way. The President, very frankly, is elected to make a determination on our product, not to tell us what our product is, but to make a judgment once our product is passed whether or not he will agree. If he does not agree, he vetoes that bill and then we have a determination to make by two-thirds vote that we disagree with his judgment. That is the way that the process should work, not be told that your product is going to be unacceptable unless it is as I tell you.

With his veto threat hovering over the entire appropriations process, stifling debate and compromises, that process simply could not continue.

I want to again congratulate Mr. Obey. If we do not pass this CR, of course, the government runs out of funding authority on the 30th of this month. October 1 is the beginning of our fiscal year. We really don't have an alternative. The only responsible vote, in my opinion, is to pass this bill.

I want to congratulate Mr. Murtha and Mr. Lewis and Mr. Young. I want to thank Mr. Young for the extraordinary leadership he brings to this House. Mr. Young is not of my party, but he is, I think, one of those who has the highest character and care for the people of America. His willingness to work together has been, I think, in large part responsible for us getting a defense product with Mr. Murtha that this House will overwhelmingly support, in my opinion.

I want to thank Mr. Lewis as well for helping to bring this bill to the floor. I want to congratulate those with the Homeland Security and the Military Construction and VA parts of this bill. They are bills which have been considered, and I think are going to be overwhelmingly supported.

I would urge all of my colleagues, meet our responsibilities, fund our government, come back here in an atmosphere in which open debate as to the priorities of our country is welcomed by all sides, and have a full appropriation process next year.

In closing, let me again congratulate and thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for his leadership, without which we would not have been able to get this bill as far as it has gotten to its passage and to fund our government in the coming months.

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, Chairman IKE SKELTON and the Armed Services Committee have worked tirelessly to put this bill together, and I want to begin by recognizing that hard work. Chairman SKELTON is among this House's most dedicated advocates for our men and women in uniform. And he and his committee have put together a good authorization bill that deserves our support.

The bill authorizes a total of $601.4 billion, including $531.4B in budget authority for the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy's national security programs. It also includes significant commitments to new shipbuilding, advanced aircraft, and efforts to protect our troops in the field from improvised explosive devices.

This bill goes a long way to rebuild our military, which is still battered from years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It provides for an increase of 7,000 active-duty Army personnel, 5,000 more Marine Corps personnel, and 1,023 more Navy sailors. It dedicates significant amounts for the reset of worn-down armed forces equipment: $8.6 billion for Army and $1.8 billion for Marine Corps. $800 million is also authorized for the Reserve and National Guard, which have borne a heavy share of the fighting.

But just as importantly, this bill looks out for the needs of our troops at a time when our country has asked so much from them. They deserve all the support we have to give. That's why this bill gives them a much-needed raise of 3.9%, more than the President's request, blocks increases in their healthcare payments, and authorizes $3.2 billion to expand quality family housing.

In sum, this is a bill that strikes a sound balance between the needs of our national defense and the needs of our troops and their families. The road back to full military readiness will be long and hard--but this bill is a big step in the right direction. I urge my colleagues to support this vital piece of legislation--vital for our troops and vital for our Nation's security.

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