Steve Womack: “My thanks to the ranking member for the time. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this package of appropriations…”

“My thanks to the ranking member for the time. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this package of appropriations bills. As the ranking member of the Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, I have great respect for my colleague, Chairman Mike Quigley. We work well together, and that is saying something because he is a Cubs fan, and I am a Cardinal fan. The bill we are debating today, Madam Speaker, is packed with unjustifiable spending and ignores our unsustainable fiscal trajectory. In light of unprecedented pandemic spending, it was my hope that this fiscal year we would prioritize making the tough choices necessary to chart a responsible fiscal path forward. Instead, the Financial Services division of the bill proposes a 20 percent increase in discretionary spending over fiscal year 2021 and numerous agencies funded receive a double-digit percentage increase over last year. Those numbers are unconscionable, Madam Speaker, when you consider the fact that this country is well over $28 trillion in debt. I noted with interest the comments of the overall chairwoman when she talked about the moral test of government. Madam Speaker, to me the moral test of government is for us to do our work and to take care of the urgent needs of our country, but not burden future generations in the course of doing so.…”