A concurrent resolution calling upon the President to issue a proclamation recognizing the abiding importance of the Helsinki Final Act and its relevance to the national security of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 305, I

call up the bill (H.R. 244) to encourage effective, voluntary investments to recruit, employ, and retain men and women who have served in the United States military with annual Federal awards to employers recognizing such efforts, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendments thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on further consideration of H.R. 244 and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 6 minutes.

I rise today to present the House amendment to H.R. 244, a bill that will provide funding for the Federal Government for the rest of the year 2017.

This bill reflects shared values, which will help make our Nation stronger, safer, and more prosperous. It fulfills our constitutional duty to fund important services the American people rely on every day, and it does this in a responsible way, making the best use of every single taxpayer dollar, ensuring more reliability and predictability than a government operating under a continuing resolution. In short, it moves our Nation forward in the right direction.

The bill includes full-year funding for the remaining 11 annual appropriations bills for defense, infrastructure, health, and safety programs through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, as well as critical emergency and defense and border security funding requested by the President.

In total, it provides $1.63 trillion in base and overseas contingency operations funding. These levels meet the caps provided by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

This bill makes the smart decisions investing funding where it is needed most: rebuilding our military, securing our borders, and bolstering economic growth, getting people back to work.

First and foremost and most importantly, this bill prioritizes funding for national defense, restoring the strength and capacity of our Armed Forces. Overall defense funding is increased by $25 billion above fiscal year 2016 levels.

This funding will help ensure our military has proper training, the best weapons and equipment needed to defeat ISIS, battle radical extremism around the world, and support our allies in the critical regions around the world against threats from Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and other sources. To rebuild our end strength, this bill includes $1.6 billion for an additional 36,000 troops above the previous administration's request.

Most importantly, this bill supports our men and women in uniform-- all volunteers--and provides them with a 2.1 percent pay raise, the largest in 6 years, and it takes care of their families.

To help secure our borders and protect our homeland, the bill provides Customs and Border Protection with a total of $12.2 billion, nearly a billion increase over fiscal year 2016. In fact, this is the largest increase to border security technologies and infrastructure in a decade, a downpayment on stronger, more effective systems and barriers.

Funding is also prioritized to tackle gang and drug crime, combat terrorism, and support law enforcement. Vital agencies like the FBI, the U.S. Marshals, the DEA, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement all receive funding boosts.

Other domestic funding is directed to proven, effective programs that improve the health and safety of all Americans. This includes increases for the National Institutes of Health and the CDC.

Significantly, we have increased funding to battle the opioid abuse epidemic by $781 million from last year. This funding will provide treatment, education and enforcement, and help the unacceptably high numbers of communities that have been devastated by this crisis.

Lastly, this legislation funds important national priorities like critical infrastructure and essential disaster relief, and supports our local communities, including renewing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program and giving choice in the District to parents.

This bill should also be noted for what it doesn't do. Our legislation cuts, freezes, and eliminates funding for dozens of programs that have been wasteful, ineffective, or just plain unnecessary. For example, we cut funding at the EPA by $81 million and reined in its regulatory program to prevent overreach.

We froze IRS's funding at current levels and directed funds to improve services to taxpayers. And to ensure that each and every tax dollar is well spent, the bill implements strong oversight and accountability at every level of government.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support this bill, as it reflects the needs of the American people and our common values. We are investing in the security and success of our Nation, and, for that, this bill deserves solid bipartisan support.

Mr. Speaker, there are many people to thank for their help in bringing this bill to the floor today. First and foremost, I want to thank my colleagues in the House. Each and every Member contributed to this effort, and, as a result, it is a better bill.

I especially want to thank my committee chairmen. They are stewards of these bills, and I appreciate all the hard work they have done to get us here today with their committee members.

I would also like to thank my counterpart, ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, Mrs. Lowey, for her dedication to bringing this bill to the floor today, as well as our colleagues in the Senate for their partnership.

Lastly, I must thank the hardworking staff of the House Appropriations Committee. They have put in months of nonstop work to bring this bill before the House today. We wouldn't be here without the leadership of the full committee staff, led by Nancy Fox and Jim Kulikowski on the majority side, and Shalanda Young and Chris Bigelow on the minority side.

In the front office, we have, also working hard, Stephen Sepp, Shannon O'Keefe, Carol Murphy, Jennifer Hing, Marta Hernandez, Tammy Hughes, Rachel Kahler, David Roth, and Brad Allen. I thank all of you.

I also want to thank our hardworking clerks and their Democratic counterparts. All deserve our gratitude. The clerks: Tom O'Brien, John Martens, Jennifer Miller, Donna Shahbaz, Dena Baron, Valerie Baldwin, Dave LesStrang, Susan Ross, Liz Dawson, Maureen Holohan, Craig Higgins, and Doug Disrud.

Lastly, I want to thank Katie Hazlett, my chief of staff, and my personal staff.

I yield myself an additional 1 minute.

Our subcommittees, as well as the minority staff, have worked night and day to get these fiscal year 2017 bills behind us and to get ahead and move ahead to the 2018 process. I appreciate all of them and their hard work.

Before I close, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge one special member of the committee staff, Dale Oak, who retires this week. Dale has dedicated over 20 years to the committee and even more to the government. He tacked one extra week on to that total, sticking around to help us complete this bill. This commitment is true to form for him, and we are immensely grateful for it.

Dale, we thank you for your years of service, and we wish you the best of luck in the future.

Mr. Speaker, it is now 7 months into the 2017 fiscal year. We must complete our work today. It is time to look ahead and begin work on the 2018 priorities. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), my predecessor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger), who is the distinguished chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), the Speaker of the House.

(Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), chairman of the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson), the chair of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 10 seconds to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), chairman of the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Yoder), chairman of the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I thank the gentlewoman and my ranking counterpart, Mrs. Lowey, for that kindness, and may I associate with her our remarks, pay tribute to her leadership, the wonderful work of the staff that she has behind her and that I have behind me. I think the debate and the comments have been positive today.

The men and women of the greatest military in the world, the United States Armed Forces, are waiting for our support today with the passage of this package, this appropriations bill. Please don't let them down. Please support this bill, which provides for our national and economic security and takes us out from a very damaging and restrictive continuing resolution.

Today is a vote to keep the government open and get back to our appropriations process, which is our responsibility under the Constitution, the power of the purse. Let's take it and use it wisely.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished ranking member for her recognition and her leadership on this legislation that we have the opportunity to vote on. So I thank Ranking Member Nita Lowey.

I thank the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey, Chairman Frelinghuysen, for his leadership as well. And I commend his staff, Nancy Fox, and others for their hard work on this; and to Ranking Member Lowey, Shalanda Young, Chris Bigelow, my own staff Richard Meltzer, and House and Senate staff members for getting us to this very important place.

The omnibus reflects significant progress defeating some dangerous riders, which I think are dangerous, and securing key victories.

Here is the thing: I spent many years in the Appropriations Committee. And I know, left to your own devices, the Appropriations Committee can find your common ground. You appreciate each other, you grant each other your positions on issues, and you understand the art of negotiating in a successful way.

There were some items that were suggested other than from the committee. From the White House, for example, a border wall, deportation force, things like that, 160 poison pills, which were ranging from undermining a woman's right to choose to dismantling Dodd- Frank, et cetera. But you all worked together to balance the equities and come up with a bill that will have, I believe, broad support in the Congress, certainly bipartisan support in the Congress.

But just not to speak about what we didn't like about the bill, there are some very positive aspects of it that I want to recognize--some nondefense increases in spending, which will save lives and create jobs.

Coal miners' health. We were so proud to secure more than $1 billion to deliver permanent health benefits to thousands of coal miners and their families who stood to lose their health benefits this month. God bless them for their advocacy. It was so important to our discussion.

Opioid epidemic. An additional $600 million for fighting the opioid epidemic.

Protecting EPA. There was going to be a huge cut, and now just a 1 percent cut in the EPA. We see that as a success.

Year-round Pell grants. So important.

Science funding. The omnibus increases funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy, the Department of Energy Office of Science, and ARPA-E, all initiatives that some wanted to cut but were happy had survived that interest in cutting.

Our colleague, Congresswoman Velazquez, has led us on the Puerto Rico issue. The omnibus includes vital funds to stabilize Puerto Rico's underfunded Medicaid program, which threatened so many of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico.

Democrats are very happy and give credit to, in a bipartisan way, led by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, securing nearly $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to alleviate famine resulting from more drought and displacement in Africa and the Middle East, saving countless lives around the world. Left without assistance, maybe 1.5 million children would die of malnutrition in the next 6 months in Africa.

And then it takes us to biomedical research. I served with Mrs. Lowey and others on the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee for many years. And the National Institutes of Health is this place that has the Biblical power to cure. It has scientific opportunity. And where there is scientific opportunity, we want to place additional resources. Lives depend on it.

So in stark contrast to the skinny budget that came out earlier, this legislation increases funding for the National Institutes of Health by $2 billion. And I want to say on that, as we relish that $2 billion and what it could mean to the good health of the American people, we have to protect our investments.

As we invest in new treatments and cures, we must also ensure that all Americans have access to them. That is why it is curious to me that on the same day that we vote on this omnibus bill and increase funding for the National Institutes of Health, increase funding for our veterans, and all the rest of that, Republicans are working furiously to advance TrumpCare's devastating impact on America's health care. No matter what anybody says to you about activities they are having today to tweak one piece of the bill, it will still be a bill that has higher costs, forcing families to pay higher premiums and deductibles and out- of-pocket costs. This will block some people from access to the lifesaving cures that we are investing in the National Institutes of Health to create.

Less coverage will take coverage from 24 million hardworking Americans.

Higher costs.

Fewer people covered.

Veterans tax. TrumpCare will deny tax credits for health care to 7 million military veterans.

TrumpCare destroys protections for preexisting conditions. So many of the investments at the National Institutes of Health that we are talking about are to find cures and to find preventions. But when we are trying to find cures, that means that the people we are trying to cure have a preexisting medical condition. This would destroy the guarantee protection for a preexisting medical condition and gut the essential health benefits in the Affordable Care Act.

There is a crushing age tax. If you are 50 to 64, you will pay five times higher than others pay for health care.

It undermines our investments in Medicare.

So I mention this because I have always thought, when I sat on that committee year in and year out, day in and day out, hour on hour, listening to the challenges facing America's families for illnesses that they were suffering, a diagnosis that they were frightened by, that what they wanted us to do was to invest in a cure, but that meant access to that cure.

So they are trying to say: Well, we are going to help with high-risk pools, and that is going to neutralize everything I said about higher costs, lower coverage, et cetera. But the conservative Mercatus Center said: ``The amendment at hand focuses on high-risk pools, but the $8 billion amount is a pittance.''

And said: ``Spread over 5 years, it's a fifth of a pittance.''

That was Robert Graboyes, a healthcare expert at the conservative Mercatus Center.

Karen Pollitz, a healthcare expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said that the additional $8 billion would likely not be enough to make the high-risk pools workable. She said that would be enough money to cover costs for only 1 percent of the individual market.

So, again, let us protect the investment that we are making. Let us elevate it with pride and say $2 billion for the National Institutes of Health.

But what does that mean to you, the average American, if you can't have access to that in a way that is affordable?

Again, 51 years ago, Dr. King said, and I say again, because I say this all of the time: ``Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death.''

So, again, this appropriations bill is a way for us to help meet the needs of the American people. This Appropriations Committee did an excellent job in resolving differences and putting forth a balance of equities as we go forward.

But let us not give with one hand and take away with the other as we, in the same 24-hour period, say: Aren't we wonderful. $2 billion for medical research.

Under the Republican's healthcare plan, it will most likely benefit the privileged few at the expense of America's working families.

That is not what we are supposed to be doing here. That is what we are taking pride in. What we are taking pride in is of the great possibilities, but let's make those possibilities available.

And I say that as one who served for many years on the Appropriations Committee, one whose goal in life was to sit on the Labor-HHS Subcommittee and to increase the funding of the National Institutes of Health, but to do it for the purpose of all Americans having access.

Having said that, getting back to this omnibus bill, again, I am very proud of the work of Nita Lowey, of the ranking members of the subcommittees, and of the staff who worked so hard. I am especially proud of the work, also, of our distinguished chairman, Mr. Frelinghuysen. I join him in recognizing the work of his subcommittee chairs on all of this. It is a product to be proud of. I thank Mr. Frelinghuysen and Mrs. Lowey.

I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about Senate Amendment to H.R. 244, ``Making Consolidated Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2017.''

The legislation before us is an imperfect vehicle for appropriations for FY 2017, but this Omnibus Appropriations package contains new funding for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2017 for federal agencies under the eleven remaining Appropriations subcommittees.

The Omnibus Budget Agreement appropriates $1.070 trillion in base discretionary budget authority, allocating $551 billion for defense and $519 billion for nondefense in line with the Budget Control Act's statutory discretionary spending caps, as well as $93.5 billion in additional funding designated for Overseas Contingency Operations(OCO).

Mr. Speaker, this budget agreement is far from perfect, but it is a positive step since it ensures that funding for appropriated entitlements will continue at a rate maintaining program levels under current law and prevents congressional Republicans from shutting down the government again and manufacturing a crisis that only harms our economy, destroys jobs, and weakens our middle class.

The government shutdown of 2013, which was manufactured by the Republican majority lasted 16 days and cost taxpayers $24 billion.

The enormous harm and disruption of the lives of federal employees and the people they serve, however, was irreparable.

As I stated, Mr. Speaker, this Omnibus Budget Agreement is a product of goodwill and realism, and averts a shutdown of government operations and the disruption a shutdown causes to the lives of millions of Americans who depend upon federal programs to do their jobs, educate their kids, care for their parents, and contribute to their communities.

Our constituents look to the Congress and the President to make responsible choices and decisions to keep the nation safe, the economy prosperous, and to make necessary and prudent investments in education, healthcare and research, transportation and infrastructure, economic development, science, the arts and humanities, and the environment.

This is, after all, just another way of saying that the American people expect their leaders in Washington be guided by the Constitution's Preamble and pursue policies and provide the resources that will:

``establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.''

The funding priorities that have been floated by the Trump Administration fail this essential test of leadership because they are irresponsible, impracticable, unrealistic, and, in many respects, insensitive or indifferent to the deleterious impact they will have on the lives of real people living in the real world.

They do not command majority support in the Congress or of the public and have been rejected in this budget.

Instead, in a stinging defeat for the Trump, the Omnibus Budget Agreement does not fund the immoral and unwise border wall or create a cruel new deportation force.

Also eliminated are more than 160 Republican poison pill riders, ranging from undermining a woman's right to reproductive health to dismantling Dodd-Frank's vital Wall Street consumer protections.

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased that we succeeded in securing Democratic policy priorities and funding increases for critical nondefense items.

This will save lives and create jobs.

Mr. Speaker, let me identify some of the important policy and funding priorities included in this budget agreement:

Fully funds community development block grants and low income housing programs in urban and rural communities.

$2 billion for Medical Research: the budget rejects President Trump's dangerous plans to steal billions from lifesaving medical research;

$221 million overall for Community Oriented Policing (COPS) and $137 million for the COPS hiring program;

$1 billion for Coal Miners' Health: Democrats secured funding to deliver permanent health benefits for the thousands of coal miners and their families who stood to lose their health benefits this month;

$600 million to combat and respond to the Opioid Epidemic;

Provides level funding for the Environmental Protection Agency despite Republicans' hopes to gut it;

Year-Round Pell Grants: Democrats insisted on, and won an increase of $105 in the maximum Pell Grant award and succeeded in restoring access to year-round Pell Grants which will make a huge difference in the lives of hard-working students;

Science Funding: the omnibus budget increases funding for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Department of Energy Office of Science and ARPA-E, all initiatives President Trump wanted cut;

Puerto Rico's Medicaid: the omnibus budget includes vital funds to stabilize Puerto Rico's underfunded Medicaid program, which threatened so many of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico;

$1 billion for Emergency Famine Relief to alleviate famine resulting from war, drought and displacement in Africa and the Middle East, saving countless lives around the world;

Mr. Speaker, I support the omnibus budget agreement before us because it achieves the following goals and objectives that I laid out last week:

``To establish justice'' and ``To promote the general welfare'':

1. Funding for the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights so that they have funds needed to enforce laws protecting civil rights, voting rights, and prosecuting hate crimes.

2. Fully funds community development block grants and low income housing programs in urban and rural communities.

3. Fully funds the Legal Services Corporation so that working and low-income persons who lack an army of lobbyists to represent them in Washington will at least have the assistance of counsel to defend their legal rights in courts of law.

4. Fully funds programs providing food assistance to housebound seniors, such as Meals on Wheels.

5. Fully funds programs that provide students from low and moderate- income families access to affordable access to higher education and provides students with special needs the support needed to receive the free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA Act).

6. Funds before and after school programs and other student enrichment programs that help students succeed.

7. Fully funds programs that make federal housing safer through energy efficient healing and cooling systems.

8. Preserves tax credit programs that help revitalize low income communities.

9. Fully funds the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy programs developing the next generation of clean energy and transportation technologies.

``Provide for the common defense'':

1. Provides robust funding for the Department of State and USAID to advance national security interests in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and to end violent conflicts in trouble spots which could threaten the security interests of the United States.

2. Provides adequate funding for United Nations peacekeeping missions throughout the world and distribution of food aid to people in developing and famine stricken countries, such as South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Nigeria.

``To ensure domestic tranquility'':

1. Fully funds cost-sharing reduction subsidies, or CSRs, to compensate insurers for reducing deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for low-income customers on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

2. Protects the adequacy, solvency, and integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which provide health sustaining support for 70 million Americans.

3. Fully funds the National Institutes of Health research programs so that patient access to lifesaving treatments is not delayed.

4. Does not convert funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into block grants which would hindering the nation's ability to respond swiftly and effectively to public health crises like Ebola, Zika, and HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Speaker, working together the House and Senate has reached an agreement on an appropriate budget framework that invests in the American people, preserves our national security, and keeps faith with the values that have served our nation well and made the United States the leading nation on earth.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 174, I call up the bill (H.R. 1301) making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1301, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present H.R. 1301, the Defense Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2017.

In total, this bill provides $577.9 billion in funding for the Department of Defense: $516.1 billion in discretionary funding and $61.8 billion in overseas contingency operations and global war on terrorism funding.

When combined with the funding provided in the continuing resolution supplemental enacted in December, total defense funding for fiscal year 2017 equals $584 billion, consistent with the top line provided in the National Defense Authorization Act, and $10.9 billion more than fiscal year 2016 levels.

Mr. Speaker, strengthening our national security and rebuilding our military starts today, with this agreement,

the first step after years of cutbacks. Our Armed Forces and intelligence community are currently operating under a continuing resolution, which denies them stability and predictability, both of which they have not had for many years.

H.R. 1301 provides that stability, removing defense funding from under continuing resolution autopilot, preventing further damage to our national defense and providing additional support for our men and women in uniform and their families.

Our troops serve with honor in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, South Korea, Japan, across the Baltics, the Sinai, and Africa on the ground, in the air, and aboard ships across the globe doing the work of freedom.

Mr. Speaker, this agreement rejects the troop reductions proposed by the previous administration, providing for increased end-strength levels authorized by the NDAA: 1.3 million Active Duty troops and 813,000 National Guard and Reserve troops, all of whom work as one team.

Our bill also fully funds the authorized 2.1 percent pay raise and provides increased funding for Defense Health Programs to ensure full care for all of our warfighters, their families, and military retirees.

This agreement also ensures that our Armed Forces have the training and equipment they need to conduct successful missions. Funding is increased for key readiness programs that prepare and train our troops and that modernize essential military installations. It reverses the previous administration's cuts to procurement, providing for additional production of state-of-the-art aircraft and ships.

In addition, we enhance cyber and ISR programs, or intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance programs, capabilities our combatant commanders badly need.

This reflects congressional priorities. We took into account the views of each and every Member who worked with us throughout the process. This is a bipartisan, bicameral agreement that deserves the support of the House.

I thank Chairwoman Kay Granger for her efforts in bringing this bill to the floor today and for taking over the leadership of the Defense Subcommittee in January.

I also thank the subcommittee's ranking member, Mr. Visclosky, for his contributions to this bill and the earlier bill. He has been an excellent partner throughout this process, and I am grateful for our continued strong working relationship.

In addition, I commend Nita Lowey, the ranking member of the full committee, for her partnership and commitment to completing all of our appropriations work.

Lastly, I thank the staff of the subcommittee that is behind me, both minority and majority, as well as our personal offices and the full Appropriations Committee for their tireless work putting this bill together.

In particular, I would like to acknowledge Will Smith and David Pomerantz, the outgoing staff directors for the Appropriations Committee, both majority and minority, in this remarkable committee. Both have made immeasurable contributions to the Appropriations Committee in this institution, and we are indebted for their service. We thank both of them and wish them both the best.

Mr. Speaker, today our Nation faces a dangerous and unpredictable world. At the same time, our Armed Forces are struggling to have our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines fully trained and ready to meet every conceivable threat. That important work to address that critical situation starts with this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the agreement, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger), chairwoman of the Defense Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), my predecessor. He is a member of the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations and a chairman in his own right.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), and thank him for his service on the Defense Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack), and I thank him for his great contributions to the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby), a new member of the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Jenkins). He is a great member of the full committee.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Palazzo), a great member of the full committee.

Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I am pleased to be here with Chairman Frelinghuysen to complete the fiscal year 2017 appropriations process. Bipartisan negotiations resulted in a bill. The product of compromise makes important investments such as: increasing biomedical research at the NIH by $2 billion; increasing investments in early childhood and education programs such as Head Start, Title I, IDEA, and afterschool programs; making college more affordable by increasing Pell grants and making them available year round; providing robust funding for public broadcasting and community service; and investing in transportation, housing, first responders, and providing our military with the tools to deter and defeat threats abroad.

It would also: ensure American citizens in Puerto Rico continue to have access to health care; permanently extend health insurance benefits for retired mine workers; increase funding to combat the opioid epidemic; preserve Planned Parenthood's eligibility for Federal funds; provide $1.1 billion in disaster assistance for regions affected by storms and flooding, including North Carolina, California, Louisiana, West Virginia, and more.

It is imperative to note what this bill does not contain: not one cent for President Trump's border wall or additional fencing; no poison-pill riders that would have prevented so-called sanctuary cities from receiving Federal grants, undermined the Affordable Care Act, or harmed the FDA's ability to regulate tobacco products.

While I am pleased we reached this agreement, we should not celebrate coming to a full-year agreement in May for a fiscal year that began 7 months ago.

Last year, our committee was negotiating in good faith until the Trump transition team interfered, insisting on a CR until late April. This unnecessary and costly delay, combined with the President's proposed cuts for the FY17 and FY18 spending bills, do not bode well for our work in the coming months.

So, while I support this bill, I am under no illusions and expect this President will again insist on draconian cuts that will harm hardworking families and interfere with our ability to negotiate.

Just yesterday, the President irresponsibly tweeted: ``Our country needs a good `shutdown' in September. . . . `' Perhaps the President needs a history lesson. The Constitution grants Congress the power of the purse. I hope the President is watching and that he will learn that good things happen when we work together for the American people.

Of course, our good bipartisan work on this bill would not have been possible without our excellent staff, and I want to personally thank all the minority and majority Appropriations Committee staffers, especially our Democratic Staff Director Shalanda Young; and Deputy Staff Director Chris Bigelow; and their majority counterparts, Nancy Fox and Jim Kulikowski.

Again, I appreciate the opportunity to work with Chairman Frelinghuysen, and I appreciate the work of all our committee members, all our ranking members, and their personal staffs as well.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.

(Mr. SERRANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify that Democrats support a strong military and defense of our country, but we are very proud of the work that we are doing together in a bipartisan way to support the National Institutes of Health, afterschool programs, Head Start, and a full year of Pell grant that will help our young people get a college education. So I am proud of that work.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), who is the ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished minority whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the distinguished ranking member of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), my friend with whom I have served on the Committee on Appropriations forever, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), a distinguished member of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Meng), an outstanding new member of our Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez).

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority leader.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Frelinghuysen for his efforts to bring an omnibus to the floor. He came into the chairmanship having to finish FY17 and must quickly pivot to FY18. This is a package that Members of both parties can support. It came through bipartisan and bicameral negotiations and offers compromises for both parties.

This kind of cooperation best serves the American people. I thank the chairs and ranking members of the subcommittees who did most of the heavy lifting to produce this bill, and I again thank the committee and personal staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work. It shows we can do our basic job keeping the government open without the threat of a shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), the distinguished chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.