Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2015
Floor Speech
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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Chairman, I urge Members to support this bill. This is a good bill. It provides $21.3 billion to fund many, many important programs and services that help our government function and our economy grow.
For example, the bill includes $862 million for the Small Business Administration, to assist our small businesses--and we all know those small businesses are the backbone of our economy--to help them prosper.
It also includes $6.7 billion for our Federal courts, to ensure the faithful execution of our laws and the timely processing of Federal cases.
The bill also demonstrates a commitment to keeping poor-performing or misbehaving agencies and programs in check. It cuts funding for the IRS, as the chairman has said, by $341 million from last year, nearly 12 percent below the President's request.
This funding level will allow the agency to perform its core duties, but will require IRS management to streamline and make the very best use of its allocated dollars.
We have also included language that will help ensure that each and every dollar spent by the IRS is spent legally, responsibly, and appropriately. For instance, the bill prohibits funding for the production of inappropriate videos and conferences that many of us have seen on television and for employee bonuses or awards, unless their performance is considered.
The bill also prohibits funding for the IRS to implement the ObamaCare individual health care mandate on the American people. In light of the chaotic and dysfunctional rollout of the Affordable Care Act, I don't see how, in good conscience, we can possibly allow the IRS to fine American citizens when many are just trying to comply with this flawed law.
Due to the past inappropriate actions by the IRS, we have also prohibited funding for certain activities to prevent a repeat of these abuses, including targeting individuals based on their political beliefs, determining the tax-exempt status of organizations under 501(c)(4), and several other provisions that will help preserve the First Amendment rights of all Americans.
The bill is designed to make sure the government works for the people, not against the people or our laws. Bill-wide, the bill includes stringent oversight, accountability, and transparency measures to make sure each and every agency toes the line.
This includes prohibitions on funding for the Executive Office of the President to prepare signing statements and executive orders that contradict existing law and a provision that will bring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of Financial Research under the annual appropriations process, so we can have oversight for the American people, ensuring that these agencies will remain accountable to the taxpayer.
These actions fulfill our congressional duty to the American people, to act as faithful shepherds of Federal tax dollars, to force these agencies to respect our laws and our budgets, and to encourage a more streamlined, efficient Federal Government.
Now, I want to take a minute to thank Chairman Crenshaw and Ranking Member Serrano for their dedicated work on this bill. This is a tough bill to write.
In fact, this is the first time, Mr. Chairman, that the Financial Services bill has been brought to the floor, I think, since 2007, roughly; and so these gentlemen and the staff and members of their subcommittee--and gentle ladies--have worked hard. They have worked together.
I know Mr. Serrano is not perfectly happy with every provision in the bill. None of us are perfectly happy with it either.
However, we need to thank them for their hard work. We appreciate it very much--and the staff, of course, who labored mightily to bring this bill out.
This legislation, I think, reflects commonsense decisions to prioritize programs and services that are effective, efficient, and responsible with taxpayer dollars. I urge all the Members to support it.
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