Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Amendments, 2011

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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we come here tonight just moments before the government is forced to close its doors with very good news. We have an agreement with the Senate and the White House to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, while providing critical resources for our national defense.

In addition, when this agreement is signed into law, we will have taken the unprecedented step of passing the largest non-defense spending cut in the history of the Nation, tens of billions of dollars larger than any other non-defense reduction. This remarkable achievement is the result of hard-fought negotiations that required all sides to come together to find common ground.

The American people need and deserve to have a functioning government, but they also deserve a government that spends its taxpayer dollars responsibly, a government that won't saddle their children and grandchildren with unsustainable and reckless debt.

Our constituents have sent us the message that the standard tax-and-spend culture in Washington is no longer acceptable. It has been the goal of this new Republican majority to keep precious tax dollars where they are needed most, in the hands of businesses and individuals across the Nation so that they can create jobs and grow our economy.

This agreement will mark the end of a budget process that should have been completed almost a year ago by the previous Congress. Yet sometimes the end result is worth the wait, and the unparalleled spending cuts in this bill will not only save the taxpayers tens of billions of dollars this year, but will allow Congress to continue the trend of reductions to dig our Nation out of our dangerous deficits and debt for years to come.

Now that a broad agreement has been reached, my committee will work over the next few days to craft legislation to bring to the floor next week.

While we continue to work, we must make responsible decisions to fund our troops and their families, keep the lights on in government, and continue to provide the services that Americans depend on every day.

This temporary CR allows us to meet these needs by providing funding through next Friday, April 15, while also making $2 billion in additional spending cuts to show the American people that we are serious about cutting spending wherever and whenever we can.

Mr. Speaker, I guarantee the final legislation will rein in Federal spending, and this CR keeps us on track to cut excessive Federal spending as we continue to finalize a deal. We are determined to deliver to the American people a complete budget with historic levels of deep and real spending cuts, cuts that will keep our economy moving in the right direction.

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