Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I thank Chairman Aderholt for the time; but, more importantly, I thank him for the great work that he has done in perfecting this bill and bringing it to the floor, along with the accolades that have already been said about the staff and the other members of the subcommittee.

Mr. Chairman, I, of course, rise in support of this bill. When I became chairman of this committee, I promised to return to regular order, open rules, and the completion of as many appropriations bills as possible prior to the August recess; and I intend to stick by that promise. And I appreciate the cooperation of my ranking member, Mr. Dicks, who has been very, very helpful in this process already. I look forward to an open amendment process and lively debate over the next several months.

I also vowed, Mr. Chairman, that we would cut spending wherever possible to help balance our budgets. The Appropriations Committee is dedicated to the careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and you will see that in each of the 12 bills we put out this year that will be a hallmark, careful stewardship of money.

We have had to make the most of our very limited resources in all areas of government, and that includes the Department of Homeland Security. We began this year with the Homeland Security appropriations bill because we can all agree that our national security is a number one priority. Every day our citizens worry about constant terrorist threats, the security of our air and seaports, and the defense of our borders; but we also face the very real dangers of uncontrolled spending and skyrocketing debt.

Americans deserve to live and work in a country that will protect not only their physical safety, but also their economic livelihood. This bill maintains the crucial measures that keep our citizens safe while also reining in out-of-control, dangerous deficit spending, providing $40.6 billion in total emergency spending for the various programs within DHS. This is a decrease of $1.1 billion below last year's level.

It funds the critical frontline personnel, operations and programs needed to uphold the highest levels of national security. Within this bill, we have bolstered our immigration and border security efforts, funded the maritime and security activities of the Coast Guard, and boosted security efforts to address air cargo threats.

The bill also addresses the President's overtly inadequate request for known disaster relief costs. It can be nearly impossible, in fact it is impossible, to plan for acts of God. But over the past few weeks, Mother Nature has wreaked havoc across our Midwest and South and other parts of the country, demonstrating the need for sufficient disaster relief funding.

I'm proud that we have added a billion dollars to the disaster relief fund while completely offsetting this increase by taking unused funding from the Department of Energy.

We've significantly reduced or eliminated ineffective and wasteful programs while requiring reforms in underperforming programs through heightened oversight to get the most out of each and every tax dollar. This includes long overdue reform on the State and local grant program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been plagued by inefficiency. These grants often remain in Federal coffers for years to come. Right now, as you've heard, there is a backlog of more than $13 billion in unspent grant funds. Why should we pack a clogged pipe, as Chairman Aderholt has said, at a time when we are strapped for money as we are.

This bill reduces funding for that program by $2.1 billion, changing the structure and requiring increased measurement and reporting, and getting the money out of the pipeline and into the hands of our first responders and our local communities and States.

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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. There is no money for advanced inspection technology body scanners or the staff. It prohibits funds to transfer, release, or assist in the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to or within the U.S., and in accordance with the House rules, there are no earmarks in this bill.

The misleading budget request from the President for DHS included undefined and unspecified administrative savings and relied on $650 million of revenue from fees Congress has not approved. This bill follows both the spirit and the letter of the law that we must make real budget cuts, and that's what we do in this bill.

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