Floor Statements

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding this time to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, which will reopen the doors of our national parks and memorials, the Smithsonian museums and facilities, and the Holocaust Museum.

I couldn't believe my ears when the gentleman who just spoke said that he opposed the opening of these icons for Americans to visit.

I can't believe that you would oppose that.

The Capital City draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the country--from all over the world, in fact--every year. To turn these visitors away from the highlights of this country is unbefitting of the Capital City. All over the country, our national parks preserve our rich national heritage and serve as a reminder to all of us of our history and the vast beauty that makes this Nation great.

This legislation is essentially a portion of the clean continuing resolution I introduced several weeks ago. This is a piece of it. With that in mind, I certainly endorse this path forward. To keep these programs, parks, memorials, and facilities operational, this bill provides funding at the current annual rate of approximately $3.2 billion. This is $2.4 billion for the national parks, $775 million for the Smithsonian museums and $48 million for the Holocaust Museum.

While this bill helps to provide stability in this segment of the Federal Government, our jobs are far from done. We can't just fund the government in bits and pieces forever. Enacting full-year appropriations that reflect current needs should be at the top of our priority list. This bill keeps us on that path toward achieving that goal, but it's not the end of the line.

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the aisle, we have offered now three or four opportunities for the U.S. Senate to avoid shutdown. They've rejected all of them out of hand--dead on arrival, they said--measures that would keep the government operating, keep employees at work and keep all of our national activities going on. Now they say, We are not going to talk with you, not even a discussion. We have appointed conferees to confer with the Senate. The Senate refuses to appoint negotiators, conferees, to discuss with the House side, bipartisanly and bicamerally, ways out of this rut that we are

in. They simply refuse to talk, much less act.

It reminds me a little bit of when Abraham Lincoln was practicing law back in Illinois. A young man accused of killing his parents came before the court, and his plea for mercy was that he was an orphan.

I would hope the U.S. Senate would act. It's up to them. The bill that we passed last night--the amendment--would authorize the appointment of conferees, which the House did, and the Senate has simply refused to even talk. I thought that's what Congress was all about--negotiating, working across the aisle, working with each other, working with the other body to find some common path that we could all agree upon and then send the bill to the President for his signature. You can't operate if one side refuses to talk, so I urge the Senate to act.

I support this bill, and I urge everyone to support it.

I thank the chairman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation to keep the District of Columbia operating as usual while Congress works to sort out its fiscal differences. I have to admit I'm really surprised to hear my good friend from New York--and we are good friends--oppose this bill.

This bill provides for the District of Columbia to use its money to provide the services that we all enjoy in this Capital City. I can't believe the gentleman would oppose this bill. This is a clean funding mechanism, nearly identical to what was included in the initial clean continuing resolution I introduced on September 10.

This legislation gives the District access to local funding at the current annual rate of $6.8 billion until December 15 or until full- year appropriations have been signed into law. This funding is solely local and does not come out of the Federal coffers. These funds will support critical District programs that its people rely on--law enforcement, safety, schools, and other essential municipal activities. I can't believe that I'm hearing opposition to this from that side of the aisle--or any side of any aisle.

This legislation will help clean up one portion of the difficulties caused by a shutdown, and it makes one more critical next step toward reopening the entire Federal Government. Let me say again that on this side of the aisle we offered to the Senate three or four different propositions to keep the government operating. They turned them all down.

Finally, last night we said: Okay, if you won't agree to any of these provisions, let's at least form a conference committee between the House and Senate, as is the usual process, which is time honored. Let's just meet in the rotunda, House and Senate conferees, and work out the differences that we have. That's what we've done around here in the past. The Senate said: No, we don't even want to talk to you. And so here we are. When the Senate said we won't talk, the shutdown took place, triggered by the Senate's refusal to even talk to Members of the House.

We've got to keep our eyes on the prize--and that's providing each and every agency, program, and department with full-year, updated appropriations, and ending this shutdown as soon as possible.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation and in support of continuing to provide our Nation's veterans with the important benefits they have earned for their service and their sacrifices. I am shocked to hear our friends on the other side of the aisle who are unwilling to help our veterans receive the benefits that they have earned in the defense of our Nation. For their unwavering commitment to this Nation, our veterans deserve to receive consistent, quality service and disability benefits. Any lapse in these services for our heroes is a failure on our part to do our jobs as Members of Congress.

I would like to remind the House that the language in this bill was essentially included in the clean continuing resolution I initially offered several weeks ago. For that reason, as well as my dedication to our veterans, I am happy to endorse this bill today.

The legislation before us continues funding to process and deliver disability claims and services at the Department of Veterans Affairs for those who have served in our Armed Forces, at the current annual rate of approximately $82 billion. The funding will last until December 15 or until we enact full-year appropriations.

In addition to providing for our former servicemen and -women, this bill will continue to move the ball down the field, closer to our ultimate goal of funding the entire government. Conversations must continue on how we as an entire Congress can come to an agreement that funds every agency and department, that ends this shutdown and reopens the government.

That's why I was so disappointed this morning when the U.S. Senate declared that they didn't want to meet with us to talk about how to end this shutdown. We offered to sit down and talk in a conference committee. The Senate at 9:30 brusquely says, No way. We don't want to talk to you. I thought that's what Congress was all about, was working out differences from this body across to the Senate, but, apparently, I am wrong.

I urge my colleagues to support our veterans and to take the next step toward ending this unnecessary government shutdown. Pass this bill today.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 367, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 59) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2014, and for other purposes, with the House amendment to the Senate amendment 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 material on the further consideration of H.J. Res. 59.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to move forward once again with H.J. Res. 59, the short-term continuing resolution that will keep the government open after the end of the 2013 fiscal year at midnight tonight.

We simply can't wait a second longer. At this late hour, we must move ahead at an accelerated pace to keep the doors of our government open. For the sake of our Nation, we must pass this continuing resolution. Mr. Speaker, the operative word here is ``continuing.''

The bills we've had on the floor, including this most recent version, do not shut down the government, as many colleagues on the other side of the aisle have falsely said. This bill, and the ones before it, continues the important functions of the Federal Government. That means our citizens will continue to benefit from these programs and services, and passing this bill will allow this Congress to continue to make progress on our important legislative work, including finding meaningful, responsible, bipartisan solutions to our fiscal problems, like the debt ceiling, sequestration, and the most immediate issue at hand, funding the government for the 2014 fiscal year.

We did not bring a resolution to shut down the government, Mr. Speaker. We brought a continuing resolution to continue the government.

A shutdown will help no one. It will only harm our Nation's security and

our economy. It will hurt our people, who rely on the Federal Government's programs and services in some way or another and who put faith in their government to act in their best interests.

Mr. Speaker, the House is not the body that is refusing to act. We aren't the ones who are not willing to budge. This is the third or fourth compromise we've offered to the Senate. They simply ignore us, throw it in the trash can.

House Republicans have now offered multiple bills, including one with just a repeal of the widely unpopular medical device tax. We've even incorporated changes that the Senate had proposed, but the Senate still refuses to engage, as does the White House. Today we offer yet another piece of legislation designed to keep the government open.

As with the previous CRs that the House has considered, this continuing resolution will fund the government through December 15 at the current post-sequestration funding rate.

It will incorporate most of the Senate's changes to our first CR, and include the few additional changes that I proposed as an amendment and that were added in the House on Saturday night. It will also delay for 1 year ObamaCare's individual mandate, and eliminates the employer subsidy for the health insurance plans of Members of Congress and our staffs and for political appointees at the White House.

No one, Mr. Speaker, is going to like everything in this bill. I don't like everything in this bill. But the continuing resolution before us today is the most immediate path to avoiding a shutdown. I expect that the House will do the right thing and approve this CR today.

I remain hopeful that the Senate will work with the House and pass this legislation. The people of this great Nation deserve more. They deserve a government that works for, not against, them. At the very least, that is a government that keeps its doors open.

So I urge all Members, every single Member, to vote ``yes'' on this continuing resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Ross).

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Lexington, Kentucky (Mr. Barr), my neighbor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Weber).

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services.

The gentleman is recognized for an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the very distinguished Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how many speakers the gentlelady has remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time, 1 minute, to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the very distinguished majority leader of the House.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 366, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 59) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2014, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment 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 material on the further consideration of H.J. Res. 59.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to move forward with H.J. Res. 59, the continuing resolution that will keep the doors of the government open after the end of the fiscal year on Monday.

It's unfortunate that yet again we are in this situation facing yet another shutdown showdown with no solution to our many fiscal problems in sight. Funding the government with a continuing resolution should not be plan A, plan B, or even plan Z. But our challenges are many, our timeline is short, so passing this CR today is absolutely essential.

The House passed a version of this bill last Friday. The Senate amended it and sent it back to us to consider once again. The motion before us agrees to the Senate amendments with two further amendments: one delaying ObamaCare for a year, and one repealing the medical device tax.

Included in each amendment are three changes that I've requested. The first changes the date back to the House-passed end date of the CR of December 15 to give us more time to pass the fiscal year 2014 appropriations bills. I've been flexible on this issue from the very beginning, but this longer timeframe will help us avoid the potential need for another CR in the interim.

The second change would make a technical change to an anomaly for the Eisenhower Commission added by the Senate. This change will simply continue the status quo of a hold on that project.

Finally, the third will add a new anomaly to extend the authority for the United States to issue special immigrant visas for the length of this CR. This authority is necessary to ensure that the visas continue for Iraqis who assisted the U.S. during the war, many of whom put their lives on the line to do so. It's become clear that since this CR was first introduced that this new provision has wide bipartisan support.

Mr. Speaker, one of our primary jobs as Members of Congress is to provide our people with important programs and services only the Federal Government can provide and to ensure that these services are available. This bill does that. However, it's also our responsibility to address the Nation's fiscal challenges head-on with a realistic and pragmatic approach that will allow for attainable solutions.

With the debt ceiling looming, a fragile economy in recovery, and the threat of additional, draconian sequestration cuts that will gut our national defense, it's essential that we come together to find common ground. One side cannot do it alone, and inaction or failure on these crucial issues could lead to disastrous results for our people and our Nation for years to come.

Let me take a moment now to remind us all of just a few of the consequences if the government were to shut down: our troops will not be paid and national security will be put at risk; our borders will weaken; our most vulnerable citizens, the elderly and our veterans, may not get the assistance they rely upon; our businesses, facing great uncertainty, will take a hit; our economy will suffer.

We must act responsibly to keep our government open and our country on stable economic footing. Now and in the near future, we must also act as productive partners to keep the Nation safe, provide our people with essential services, rein in unsustainable entitlement programs, and secure a responsible and realistic Federal budget.

And we must remember that we do this not just for ourselves and our districts, but we do it for the Nation as a whole. I hope that today-- with the countdown to shutdown clocks ticking away--my colleagues will understand that funding the government is one of those essential duties, and I ask you to vote ``yes'' on this continuing resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), vice chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Stutzman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), the distinguished chairman of the Labor-HHS Subcommittee on Appropriations.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the time remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen), a very important member of the Ways and Means Committee of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent), who is the vice chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Coffman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson), who is the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the MilCon and VA.

Might I inquire of the time remaining, Mr. Speaker.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger).

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

We've heard time and again tonight from the other side that this debate and vote is about shutting down the government. Pardon me. I thought we were voting on a continuing resolution. What do you think a continuing resolution is? It's to continue the government.

Those on the other side also want to say that we're defunding ObamaCare. We're not. We did that in the first bill we sent over to the Senate. The Senate rejected that and sent it back. Now this side of the aisle is offering a peaceable offer.

People all over this country are telling all of us how much they are worried about this ObamaCare that they're having to contend with starting this Monday. They're saying, Please, give us a break. Give us some time to adjust to this. Even the President admitted that the law was not for prime time for the business community, and he gave businesses an extra year. He's excused so many other people that we don't even know about, and yet the individual mandate, the requirement of the law that individuals must comply with, he will not yield on.

That's what this bill does. It says let's take a year off and let's work this thing, let's get the computers which are not working to work. Let's get the computers working right. Let's get the staff in the field. Let's get people out there who can sign people up. That takes time, Mr. Speaker. That's what this bill is all about. It says delay for just 1 year the individual mandate, which is really all that's left that's still in force. Let's take a year and perfect, if you can, this bill for the individual.

To say that what we're after tonight is to shut down the government is just not so. This is a continuing resolution. This continues the government. Like it or not, that's what it does. So I urge a ``yes'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 352, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 59) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2014, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam 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 the consideration of H.J. Res. 59, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.

Madam Speaker, the continuing resolution that we bring up today will keep the government operating into the next fiscal year. The base CR is straightforward, it's clean, it's short-term, it continues reductions in Federal discretionary spending. But most importantly, Madam Speaker, it will prevent a government shutdown.

The legislation also includes an amendment to the base bill, which adds the text of H.R. 2682, the Defund ObamaCare Act of 2013, and the text of H.R. 807, the Full Faith and Credit Act.

H.J. Res. 59 will fund the government for the first 76 days of fiscal year 2014, until December 15, 2013. It provides $986.3 billion in funding, approximately the same rate as the current post-sequestration level, with some minor adjustments.

The base bill is extremely clean. Additional provisions were only added in a very limited number of cases where adjustments were needed to prevent catastrophic shortfalls or unintended disruptions to critical programs or services. It simply keeps the lights on in our government to provide for the safety, security, and well-being of all Americans.

I'd like to remind my colleagues, Madam Speaker, both in the House and the other body, that a government shutdown is a political game in which everyone loses. It shirks one of our most basic duties as Members of Congress, and it puts our national security at stake.

To be clear, if this legislation is not enacted and we embark on a government shutdown, the consequences are severe. Our brave men and women in uniform don't get paid; our recovering economy will take a huge hit; and our most vulnerable citizens, including the elderly and the veterans who rely on critical government programs and services, could be left high and dry.

A government shutdown, even the illusion of the threat of a shutdown, says to the American people that this Congress does not have their best interests at heart.

This continuing resolution keeps this Congress moving in the right direction. It gives us time to solve the urgent fiscal issues facing our Nation, finding a balanced and attainable plan that eliminates sequestration, implements careful reforms for both discretionary and mandatory spending, and keeps our economy growing.

It is my hope that the House will pass this bill today, and that the Senate will act in short order so that this matter will be wrapped up well before the deadline on the 30th.

So I urge my colleagues to do their jobs as Members of the House, and to do what's best for this country, and vote ``yes'' on this bill today.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), the chairman of the Energy and Water Subcommittee on Appropriations.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson), chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), chairman of the Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), the chairman of the Interior Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Granger), the chairman of the State, Foreign Ops Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the chairman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), the chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Gardner).

Will the gentleman yield?

First, I want to thank the gentleman from Colorado for all of his efforts to help Colorado through all of this turmoil, a terrible disaster, and to recover from the flooding, especially.

I am aware of the dire need to help Colorado and provide access to emergency resources, including access to emergency transportation dollars. I look forward to working with the gentleman to address this important funding matter as quickly and expeditiously as possible.

I know I speak for all of the House when we say to the people of Colorado that our hearts are with you and our prayers are with you, and thank you for your great service.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished majority leader of the House, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Nunnelee), a hardworking member of our Appropriations Committee.

Madam Speaker, might I inquire as to the time remaining?

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

We are doing a CR, even though the Appropriations Committee on the House side passed 11 of the 12 bills through the committee, four of them across the floor of the House and the remaining ones waiting for floor time as we've run out of time. Consequently, this continuing resolution will continue the government past the September 30 end of the fiscal year.

We were unable to pass the appropriations bill singly on the floor because of lack of floor time, but also because the House and Senate never agreed to an overall number to which we could mark. Consequently, we were not able to bring those bills out because of that limitation.

With this CR until December 15, if we are given a number common with the Senate to which we need to mark the individual 12 bills, we will do so. This is a hardworking committee. We are pragmatists. We know that we have to pass bills to fund the government, thus this bill.

If we were intending to close down the government and shut it down, we wouldn't be here with this bill. We would just sit there. But this is an effort by the majority party in the House to continue the government and avoid a shutdown while we work out the differences on these funding bills for fiscal year 2014.

Madam Speaker, this continuing resolution is straightforward, it's clean, it's short term, it continues reductions in Federal discretionary spending. I would point out we've actually cut discretionary spending the last 2 years by $120 billion, the first time that's occurred since World War II. We're trying to be responsible. This bill is responsible, and I urge a ``yes'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve a point of order.

Madam Speaker, I withdraw my reservation on the point of order, and I rise in opposition to the motion.

This continuing resolution we spent the last hour debating is absolutely necessary to keep the lights on in our government. A shutdown is not what our businesses need, not what our troops need, not what our people need, and not what our country needs.

The CR is straightforward. It's short term. It gives us the time we need to sort out our fiscal differences with the other body. By funding the government until December 15, Congress and the President will have time to construct a budgetary path forward that deals with the most pressing fiscal issues we face, raising the debt ceiling and constructing one common discretionary number while we find true savings, especially through entitlement reform.

Now this motion to recommit picks out a few programs and would fund them for the entire next year, not the next 90 days, not until December 15. This motion would pick out a few programs to continue funding for the rest of the year. Well, that's not the issue. It misses the point. The issue is whether we can get agreement on an overall discretionary number and replace sequester for all programs, not just a few. To get the additional time to negotiate, we've got to pass this CR now.

The motion also addresses the importance of Social Security and Medicare. There's nothing in this CR that does anything but preserve these programs and protect the benefit payments for each and every recipient.

For better or worse, Madam Speaker, we have spending levels in place that are enforced by sequestration. Should my Democrat colleagues wish to do away with those limits, I would respectfully invite them to vote against this motion to recommit so we can keep the government open and negotiate a full debt package between the House, the Senate, and the President.

This bill is about keeping the government open, preventing a shutdown, and providing the important services that only the Federal Government can deliver for our people. The gentleman's motion is tantamount to shutting down the government because it will never allow for passage of the one thing critical to the functioning of government, which is the continuing resolution before us. So I urge my colleagues to vote against the motion and for final passage of the CR.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding this time.

Madam Chairman, I rise in support of this, the DOD appropriations bill.

This bill provides more than $512 billion in base funding for our national security and military efforts, and $85.8 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations war funding. This is a base funding decrease of $5.1 billion below fiscal 2013, but is about $28.1 billion above the current level caused by automatic sequestration spending cuts.

This total reflects an appropriate, thorough analysis of what is needed to keep this country safe. Freedom isn't free. Our liberties, our rights, our property are preserved by our national defense, but at a cost.

Sufficient funding for the Pentagon and our military is of the utmost importance to the continued prosperity of the United States of America. It is, and should be, our top priority.

We have already seen the distressing toll that the heavy-handed, indiscriminate cuts of sequestration have taken on our military--from grounded planes, to reduced training time, to postponed maintenance-- all of which contribute to the loss of readiness of our troops.

As we saw all this month as Department of Defense civilian furloughs began, our economy is also taking a significant hit.

The funding level in this bill strikes a balance between fiscal responsibility and sufficient support for our military. Within this total, we prioritize funding to advance our missions abroad, to prepare and equip our troops, and to ensure the readiness and effectiveness of our military. This includes adequate funding to purchase the equipment, weapons, and vehicles needed to keep our military protected, at the ready, and able to conduct successful operations.

The bill also provides funding for ongoing operations and maintenance of military facilities, equipment, and bases--fundamental to the successful missions of our Armed Forces. Essential funding is proposed to develop new defense technologies, to advance the success of current military operations, and to plan for whatever new threats may arise in the future.

A well-equipped military is not as effective without strong and well- prepared troops. This funding supports readiness programs that prepare our troops for both combat and peacetime missions, giving them flight time and battle training.

In addition, the bill funds the authorized 1.8 percent pay raise for the military--above the 1 percent the President requested. To keep our troops healthy before and after battle, the Defense Health Program receives an increase above last year's level, funding medical facility upgrades, traumatic brain injury and psychological health research, and suicide prevention outreach.

The bill also addresses what has been a black mark on our military, Madam Chairman--the problem with sexual assault. The legislation fully funds Sexual Assault Prevention and Response programs and adds $25 million in funding for sexual assault victim assistance to preserve trust in our military and ensure that members of our Armed Forces are not sacrificing more than they already have to serve this Nation.

But a balanced budget--one that does not put us into massive debt to other governments or threaten our economic stability--is also paramount to our national security. Even these critical national security programs cannot spend precious tax dollars unchecked.

The bill has implemented commonsense reductions wherever possible, including rescinding unused, prior-year funding, nixing a proposed civilian pay raise, and saving $1 billion in anticipated excess funding. We have also prohibited funding to modify facilities in the U.S. to house Guantanamo detainees or to allow their transfer into the U.S. or its territories.

When all is said and done, this bill cuts more than $5 billion below last year's enacted level; but I must emphasize that these reductions will in no way harm or negatively affect our national defense or the troops that fight to protect this great country.

Madam Chairman, some will complain that the bill breaks the cap placed on Defense spending under the sequester level for fiscal year 2014 put into place by the Budget Control Act. To this I say, of course it does.

The massive, irresponsible, dangerous reductions to Defense spending under the sequestration cap is completely beyond the pale.

For example, if nothing is done to cancel the next round of sequestration cuts that are scheduled to take effect when this Congress adjourns, this bill would be cut to a total of $468 billion.

Before I close, Madam Chairman, I would like to take this time to thank the venerable chairman of the subcommittee, Bill Young. He is a national asset. He has shown again the skill that he has in putting together a great bill.

To Mr. Visclosky, thank you for being a great partner to our chairman throughout this process.

To the staff and the entire subcommittee members, without your hard work we would not have this bill on the floor. I salute you and endorse this bill wholeheartedly.

Madam Chairwoman, I move to strike the last word.

Madam Chairwoman, I rise only to say thank you to the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Frelinghuysen, who has been in this seat now for 38 days it seems like, but the entire time of this bill. He has not taken a break for any reason during the entire consideration of these dozens of amendments and general debate.

I want to thank the chairman for doing a great job during this debate, but also in drafting the bill, along with his colleague, Marcy Kaptur, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee. So, Mr. Chairman, we thank you for a job well done and thank you for persevering through all of this.

Also, I want to say a word of thanks to the staff, who deserve so much credit for the work that has been before the body for the last 2 days. Rob Blair, the clerk of the subcommittee, and all of the staff on both sides of the aisle have worked long and hard to bring this bill to the floor and to transpose it to the population of the House. So we thank you for a great job well done.

As we near the end of the deliberation on the amendments and finally vote on the bill, I want to urge everyone to vote for this bill. This is a good bill. It cuts spending, it does the Nation's business, and it's fair and transparent.

I urge adoption of the bill and yield back the balance of my time.

Announcement by the Acting Chair

Mr. Speaker, American coal families are under attack, not from a foreign power or a natural disaster, but by an administration that has resolutely, perversely, and now overtly proposed to end coal mining and coal-fired power generation in these United States.

President Obama's calamitous climate change plan announced yesterday is the latest job-killing bomb to be dropped on Kentucky, West Virginia, Illinois, and dozens of coal States already knocked down after 4 years of administration policies. This administration has used code words like ``streamlining'' and ``permit reviews'' to shell our communities with regulations and red tape that even the most sophisticated businesses can't adhere to.

Now the White House is dismantling our strategic energy advantage and unilaterally disarming our economy in broad daylight. I quote White House climate adviser Daniel Schrag straight out of the White House: ``A war on coal is exactly what's needed.''

Mr. Speaker, a war on coal is exactly what is not needed. A war on coal is a war on middle class Americans. It's a war on jobs, all kinds of jobs. It's already claimed 5,700 direct Kentucky jobs in just a year and a half, the vast majority of those in my economically challenged district.

There is no recovery in Inez or high-tech boom in Harlan, Mr. President. My families are struggling to get back to work, pay their bills, or find salaries comparable to coal mining. And my communities are losing their main employers. This climate plan makes the situation worse, dimming the prospects of reopening the mines even further.

Moreover, this disastrous climate change plan is a plan for America's economic and security decline. This plan would only lead to higher electric bills and increased dependence on foreign enemy sources. And to think someone has the audacity to say, ``We need a war on coal.'' Well, what we need is a war on that line of thinking.

This administration's stringent rules and absurd mandates are simply meant to force coal-fired power plants to stop burning coal or shutter the facilities altogether. I call it strangulation by regulation.

Mr. Speaker, more than 200 coal plants have already closed across 25 States, and now seven new EPA regulations are on track to do even more damage. I'm losing one of the biggest employers in Lawrence County to this onslaught--1,200 good-paying jobs.

In total, the closure of mines, shuttering of power plants, and resulting hikes in electric rates are expected to cost the U.S. economy some 887,000 jobs per year. Please tell me how this is in our national interest, how this is leading America forward. In 2008, the President promised to bankrupt the coalfields. And yesterday, he took a giant step toward that reckless, shameful goal.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 251 on the passage of the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, I am not recorded because I was absent due to illness. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a World War II Veteran and tremendous leader in rural healthcare, the late Dr. John M. Smith.

Dr. Smith was quite a pioneer in his time. He was one of the first graduates from Caney Creek College, now know as Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Kentucky. After graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1942, he enlisted in the United States Navy and valiantly served as a first lieutenant aboard the U.S.S. Weeden, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific campaigns. Smith was later selected as one of the first recipients of the Rural Kentucky Medical Scholarship Fund and graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1949. After completing medical school, Dr. Smith decided to extend his service to our country by volunteering as a medical officer during the Korean War at the Louisville, Kentucky recruitment station.

In 1951, Dr. Smith began his mission to provide healthcare to the people of southeastern Kentucky, in a rural region plagued by high rates of health disparities and limited access to healthcare. He opened his first medical practice in Beattyville, Kentucky where he faithfully treated patients for eleven years. However, his passion for additional education in the medical field also led him to practice radiology at Morehead Hospital, Woodford County Hospital, and the Lexington Clinic for a little more than a decade. In 1974, he returned to Beattyville as a general practitioner where he dedicated nearly 40 years of quality healthcare for the people of Lee and surrounding counties until the age of 90.

He was involved in numerous civic activities, serving as a member of the Masonic Proctor Lodge 213, the Lee County Shrine Club, VFW Post 11296, and the Kentucky Medical Association. He served as the Medical Director of the Lee County Constant Care and Geri Young House, and a member of the Lee County Board of Health.

Dr. Smith leaves behind a devoted family: his loving wife, Patty of 54 years; seven children, 17 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. His son, William, has been one of my most trusted advisers, working on my team since 1995, and now serving as my Chief Clerk of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. Will's extensive policy knowledge and legislative wisdom has been vital for our nation's economy and for projects supporting the good people of southern and eastern Kentucky. On behalf of my wife Cynthia and myself, I want to extend our deepest heartfelt sympathies to the entire Smith family.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring a tireless leader in rural healthcare and a true patriot, the late Dr. John M. Smith.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a long-time friend and tremendous leader in Kentucky, Dr. Bruce Ayers upon his retirement as President of the Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.

Dr. Bruce Ayers is arguably one of the most brilliant educators and dedicated businessmen in Kentucky. He understands the value of forging new partnerships, expanding educational opportunities, and mentoring young leaders. He is also an avid ambassador for our beautiful region, promoting our rich culture and heritage with every opportunity.

Dr. Ayers enjoys explaining how he ``grew up'' at Southeast, spending nearly a half-century at the institution. After bravely serving in the U.S. Marine Corps with a deployment at Guantanamo Bay, Bruce became a student at what used to be the Southeast Center of the University of Kentucky in Cumberland. He quickly displayed leadership qualities by helping to establish the college's award-winning newspaper, The Southeasterner, before moving on to the University of Kentucky in Lexington. After earning his Master's degree, Bruce immediately returned to Southeast as a faculty member and worked diligently to become the 8th President of SKCTC in 1987.

With Dr. Ayers at the helm of his alma mater, Southeast has grown from a small campus with 1,100 students to well over 5,000 students spanning five cities with individual campuses. With his vision and compassion to help others succeed, the college established a Nursing School, the Kentucky Coal Academy, the Pine Mountain Development Corporation, and multiple outreach programs for younger students, beginning in elementary school. Most recently, he has worked tirelessly to help laid-off coal miners get the education they need to pursue alternative careers in the midst of economic struggles in our Appalachian coalfields.

Dr. Ayers' exemplary leadership has earned national recognition. He is the founding chair of the Rural Community College Alliance; he served as an adjunct member on the graduate faculty of the Department of Instructional Systems, Leadership, and Workforce Development at Mississippi State University; and served as a local advisor for students pursuing a PhD in Community College Leadership through MSU. Additionally, under his leadership, the Aspen Institute selected SKCTC as one of the top ten community colleges in the nation earlier this year.

While his excellence in education has largely defined his career, Dr. Ayers' footprint extends far beyond the Southeast campuses, through his tireless community service efforts in the tri-city area of Harlan County and our entire region. Dr. Ayers has been a huge advocate for non-profit, grassroots programs like our region's tourism initiative, TOUR Southern and Eastern Kentucky; the environmental cleanup campaign, Eastern Kentucky PRIDE; and the holistic anti-drug program, Operation UNITE. I believe he spends each day trying to find a way to give more back to the region he calls home. He is truly a difference maker.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring my friend and a true inspiration, Dr. Bruce Ayers on his retirement. I wish Bruce and his wife, Barbara all the best in the years to come.

I thank the chairman for yielding me the time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bill.

First, I'd like to thank our colleagues for their careful consideration yesterday of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, which, as you know, passed overwhelmingly in the House. There were only four Members who voted against that bill, and I'd like to ask all of the supporters of that bill to continue on this bill today. It's a very conscientious piece of legislation that I believe can and should pass this body on a bipartisan basis.

The bill before you, as the chairman and the ranking member have said, provides $38.9 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. In such austere budget times, this bill rightly prioritizes spending on programs that save American lives. Frontline protection, terrorism prevention and response, disaster recovery, and a strong and secure border, all of these are paramount to the safety and security of our homeland.

Mr. Chairman, we are constantly reminded that we can't let our frontline security efforts lapse. The terrible attack at the Boston Marathon underscored the need to support key readiness programs, provide heroic first responders with the funding and equipment they deserve, and improve intelligence and threat-targeting activities so we can help avoid terrible attacks like Boston in the future.

With this bill, we are tightening security at our borders with funding increases for Customs and Border Protection and ICE that preserve the highest totals of Border Patrol agents and CBP officers and the highest detention bed capacity in history. We've targeted funding to combat human trafficking, child exploitation, cyber crime, and drug smuggling. And we're protecting our shores and access points with adequate funding for the Coast Guard and TSA.

This bill also fully supports the known requirements from the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund, which provides assistance to localities overwhelmed by catastrophic natural disasters like the recent tornadoes in the Midwest. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims of those disasters that have ravaged our Nation, like Oklahoma.

To that end, this bill provides an additional $6.2 billion for that Disaster Relief Fund. That's for fiscal 2014. Right now, though, as the chairman has said, combined with the approximately $11 billion kitty that FEMA has on hand, there is sufficient funding for the immediate response needs in Oklahoma and other affected areas.

Our committee stands at the ready to reassess any further needs as a fuller picture of the damage becomes clear. It's our duty as Members of Congress to provide this critical assistance to communities that are suffering from such unexpected and devastating natural disasters.

Mr. Chairman, strong national security comes at a price. And as we all know, tax dollars for these programs are in limited supply these days, so we can't let any of the funding that we appropriate to the Department of Homeland Security go to unproven or wasteful programs. Across the Department, we've made careful reductions that bring total funding in this bill to $617 million less than the fiscal year 2013 enacted level. We've enforced strict reporting requirements and other oversight tools to guarantee that DHS is spending its dollars wisely, and we've prevented funding from being used on risky or controversial efforts like transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay or another Fast and Furious-type program.

Before I conclude, let me extend my appreciation to Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Price, former chairman of the subcommittee, for their hard work in crafting this bill. As has been said by both sides, this is a nonpartisan bill. It always has been that way.

We've attempted to work from the very beginning of this subcommittee's existence to work across the aisle, to be sure that the homeland is adequately protected. That takes cooperation across the middle aisle, and it's happened over the years, and it's happened this year. And I want to thank these two gentlemen, especially, for working together, as they have.

This is John Carter's first bill as a cardinal. He's making his maiden voyage, and I think the ship is sailing through. He says he hopes so.

And we want to thank, of course, the staff of the subcommittee for their tireless hours dedicated towards crafting this bill of great importance to our national security.

So I'm proud to say, Mr. Chairman, that I stand before you in 100 percent support of this bill. It represents all that makes our country great and the security that will keep our country great. And I urge our colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Chairman, I thank the chairman for the generous introduction.

I rise in support of this, the first of 12 appropriations bills that I hope to bring to the floor under regular order. Although we received the President's budget nearly 2 months beyond the deadline, I have every intention of drafting and considering all 12 appropriations measures in a timely fashion and in the traditional open process that allows all Members to have their say in how taxpayer dollars should be spent.

As we kick off the appropriations season on the floor today, we face some of the most challenging circumstances in recent memory--a tardy Presidential budget, a divided Congress, the ham-handed cuts of sequestration, and historically low funding levels.

Given our tight budget, my committee has and will continue to prioritize funding in areas of the highest national need--our security and enforcement of law. However, virtually all areas of the government will face cuts this year, including critical national security programs.

Clearly, this is an austere budget year, to put it mildly. Our top line number is severely low and billions apart from the Senate's number. It is my sincere hope that there will soon be a budget compromise that will undo the harmful sequestration law and give us a single common top line allocation that we can work with the Senate to pass all of the funding of the government.

In spite of all this, I want to reiterate my commitment to regular order. This is not a pie-in-the-sky endeavor. It's what our Founding Fathers wanted and directed in the Constitution. Under regular order, each of my esteemed colleagues in this body will have their chance to put their stamp on this bill, to have their voices heard and represented on these must-pass bills.

We have a lot of work to do in a very limited amount of time, so I suggest we get down to it. Today, we are considering the Military Construction and VA bill, a truly bipartisan effort that this entire body can and should support.

This bill funds critical Department of Defense infrastructure that gives our men and women in uniform the quality of life they deserve, including hospitals, schools, and family housing. This bill also includes $63.1 billion to provide our veterans with the benefits and care they've earned for their service.

Notably, we support medical treatment for 6.5 million veterans, including funding for traumatic brain injury treatment, suicide prevention, and important mental health care programs.

This bill also addresses two of the VA's biggest problems, Madam Chairman--the disgraceful disability claims backlog and the lack of a seamless coordinated Department of Defense-Veterans electronic health record system.

The bill includes funding that will jump-start efforts to clean up the backlog and force DOD and VA to get moving on a system that should have been in place years ago.

But this is not the easiest of budget times. While most of the funding in this bill is not subject to sequestration, we could not in good conscience let a single dollar in this bill go to waste. Every nickel and dime appropriated was carefully assessed to ensure these funds are used properly, efficiently and responsibly.

We took the difficult but responsible step to reduce military construction funding to offset the increases in VA spending, but we made these reductions without affecting military readiness or effectiveness. To make sure that our careful work in this bill does not go to waste, we've implemented strict oversight protocols, and we have included certain benchmarks to help guarantee that disability claims are not piling up again and that we aren't throwing away precious taxpayer dollars as we try to get this DOD-VA electronic health records system up and running.

Before concluding, Madam Chairman, I would like to spend a half- minute here thanking the chairman of the MilCon Subcommittee on our committee, John Culberson, for his time and attention to this bill and for his dedication and perseverance, as well as to thank the work of the ranking member, Mr. Bishop. These two gentlemen of the House, dedicated appropriators, have spent untold hours working with each other to try to come to agreement on the items in this bill. It has worked, and it is a good example, perhaps the best I can think of, in which we see that bipartisanship in support of our military and our veterans takes place. So I want to congratulate Mr. Culberson and Mr. Bishop for a job well done, and we thank you for your bipartisanship.

Madam Chairman, I think this bill is one that Members on both sides of the aisle can wholeheartedly support to keep our military in fighting form and to give our veterans the benefits that they have so sincerely earned, many of them in the loss of limb, some in the loss of life. So I urge my colleagues to support this bill.