On the recordMay 19, 2015
I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise on this bill, as a member of the subcommittee, with very mixed emotions. There are some very good things in this bill, but there is also some bad stuff. The question is whether the bill is 51 percent good or 51 percent bad. I came to Congress because I believe that government can play a positive role in American lives. Government is not the enemy. But it makes me wonder then why this body refuses to invest in the tools to do the job of government and, by extension, to do the job of the American people. This bill contains the same funding levels it did last year, and that is $172 million less than the budget request. Any good corporation plots its investments so the company can prosper. In terms of the House of Representatives, that would mean setting spending at a level that would maximize its ability to serve the people. By failing to make those investments, we disrespect the American people, and we tell them that we are not worth the investment, not worth the effort, not worth doing the job well. This bill fails to invest in the very institution we depend upon to make government function properly. This body is being given short shrift. I am on the Appropriations Committee. I think it is our responsibility to meet the needs of the Nation in every respect, and that includes investing in the legislative branch of government so it can do its job.…
