Mike Honda: “Today Congress is considering a bill to keep the government running for the remainder of the fiscal year. That is our…”

“Today Congress is considering a bill to keep the government running for the remainder of the fiscal year. That is our basic responsibility as Members of Congress. I am pleased that we are operating under regular order in considering the conference report. The American people want us to work together. This package is a reflection of what we can accomplish through hard work and compromise. The Legislative Branch appropriations bill will provide the Congress and its agencies with $4.3 billion to work with, which is a reduction from the previous fiscal year. I have hope for more funds for the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office, which have experienced increased demands from Members during these budget-focused times. However, I am glad we restored funding for agencies that were the targets of the most extreme cuts proposed in the original House bill. This conference report restores $18 million to the Government Printing Office, $12 million to the Library of Congress, averting layoffs the original House bill would have caused. Capitol Police funding remains at last year's level of $340.1 million. It is the only legislative branch agency that was not cut from last year's level.…”