Conference Report on H.R. 2055, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for his comments and for yielding.

I rise in support of this legislation.

This ought to be a lesson for us in some humility. I was the majority leader. Had I, as majority leader, brought that bill that sits on that floor, 1,207 pages, within the last 24 hours to the floor, I think the response from that side of the aisle would have been harsh, accusatory, and not helpful.

Now, why do I say that? Because it happened. And it ought to be a portion of humility for all of us to understand the legislative process is difficult. We bring different views and we represent different constituencies and we have different priorities.

I rise in strong support of this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation. None of them have read it. Not one of us has read every page of this bill. I see the chairman raising his hand, and I take him at his word. That means 434 of us will have to rely on his advice and counsel. And I'm sure Mr. Dicks has read it as well. My point is we work by committees, as President Wilson said, and we've worked hard on this bill through the year.

My Republican colleagues, during the course of the last election, said, We're going to bring bills one at a time to the floor and consider them. The Labor-Health bill that is included in a substantial portion of those pages, not only has it not been brought to the floor, it didn't pass the subcommittee. Nor the full committee. Nor this floor.

But this bill has been worked on carefully, and I want to congratulate Mr. Rogers and Mr. Dicks and all of the subcommittee chairs for working out the differences that we had so we could do what the American people expect us to do--come to agreement on a bill that none of us perceives as perfect but perceive as a positive step for our country.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. DICKS. I yield the gentleman an additional minute.

Mr. HOYER. I, therefore, urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. Yes, it will keep government open, which is essential; but it will also do the most fundamental job that this Congress has to do every year, and that is to fund appropriately the priorities that this Congress puts before the country.

In closing, let me congratulate my friend, Hal Rogers from Kentucky, with whom I served on the Appropriations Committee for over two decades, and Mr. Dicks, with whom I have served every day of my congressional career. Both are decent, hardworking, conscientious Representatives. They and their subcommittee chairs and ranking members have come together to present this product.

It is time to act. It is time to act positively. I will, when the roll is called, be supporting this piece of legislation.

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