Peter Visclosky: “I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation to Chairman Frelinghuysen for his efforts to be inclusive and…”

“I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation to Chairman Frelinghuysen for his efforts to be inclusive and transparent in drafting this legislation. The process has been collegial, and the chairman has ensured that the Energy and Water Subcommittee continues its tradition of bipartisanship and cooperation. I would like to join the chairman in thanking the other members of the subcommittee and also all of their staffs for their exceptionally good and dedicated work. Finally, this bill could not have been written without the dedication, hard work, and sound judgment of our committee staff. The chairman has kindly enumerated them by name. Given the constrained allocation that the subcommittee was dealt, I believe that Chairman Frelinghuysen has crafted a good bill. While I hope that we can modify some elements of the bill going forward, I would observe that our differences are marginal. As the chairman mentioned in his remarks, the allocation for the Energy and Water bill is $31.2 billion, which is $964 million below the administration's budget request and $88 billion above last year's level. As a result, the bill makes dramatic reductions to vital energy programs to stay within the allocation.…”