Steve Womack: “I thank my ranking member for yielding. With all due respect to my colleague, I rise in opposition to the amendment.…”

“I thank my ranking member for yielding. With all due respect to my colleague, I rise in opposition to the amendment. This bill funded the Office of the Vice President at a 20 percent cut from last year, so we have taken steps to send that message, that power of the purse message to the Office of the Vice President. This amendment would completely eliminate funding for the salary and expenses of any employee in the office. Now, I agree that the Biden administration is pursuing an agenda that is in conflict with what I believe, there is no question about that. However, I think it is wrong for us to take our grievances out by just carte blanche eliminating funding for the Office of the Vice President of the United States. Now, that is just a bridge too far, as far as I am concerned. We need to have these debates about whether or not border security is correct or, you know, pick from the menu of all of the various things that divide Republicans and Democrats. But to go this far, I would strongly encourage the House of Representatives to take a very sober view of an amendment like this and understand that these kinds of things cut both ways. I would caution us not to enter into the territory where because of an issue that we might have some disagreement on that we find it within our ability or the course of action to just eliminate the funding for the Office of the Vice President. I strongly oppose this amendment.”