Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I thank Chairman Frelinghuysen and Mr. Visclosky for the hard, super effort. This has not been an easy bill, to say the least. And you've stayed with it, you have written a good bill, and you have, I think, defended a good bill. There have been amendments that have passed at least on voice vote that I think helped the bill.

I want to remind Members that this bill normally in past years has been one of the homes of earmarks. This bill was practically all earmarks in years past. And to the great credit of this subcommittee, you have not allowed any earmarks--not one--which is a remarkable achievement and merits the support, I think, of every single Member of this body.

Number two, we gave you a real tough 302(b) number to deal with. That I admit from the very beginning. We were trying to implement the budget that passed this House. And the allocation you received was very stingy. But you have, I think, done great credit to yourselves and to the rest of us by using that limited allocation and stretched it out as far as you could stretch it. And I think you've got a good bill.

In fact, the numbers in this bill are going back to 2006 levels.

The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman from Indiana has expired.

(On request of Mr. Dicks, and by unanimous consent, Mr. Visclosky was allowed to proceed for 1 additional minute.)

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Will the gentleman continue to yield?

Mr. VISCLOSKY. I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. You've gone back to the 2006 levels, which is a huge cut in spending. So you've done your share of helping us get the Nation's fiscal house back in order. And I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Dicks, who at the very outset of this year agreed with me in toto that we would get this committee back into regular order, and he is living up to that every day since that time. So thank you, Mr. Dicks, for doing a great job.

And I want to thank these two, the chairman and ranking member of this subcommittee. They have been a model of civility and working together for a common cause. Thanks for a great job.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source