Peter Visclosky: “I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation as well to Chairman Frelinghuysen and congratulate him on the…”

“I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation as well to Chairman Frelinghuysen and congratulate him on the collegial and transparent manner in which he crafted H.R. 4870, the fiscal year 2015 Defense Appropriations Act. I also want to express my sincere appreciation for the efforts of Chairman Hal Rogers and Ranking Member Nita Lowey and all of the members of the Defense Subcommittee. Also, as I think all of my colleagues know, this bill could not have been written without the dedication, long hours, and discerning and thoughtful input by our committee staff and our associate and personal staffs. I want to thank each one of them. I would like to begin by saying a few words about the overseas contingency operations title that the chairman referred to. The committee has been placed in a very difficult position of having to provide $79.4 billion as a placeholder. Recent decisions on the post-2014 troop levels in Afghanistan clear up the major policy issue that held back a detailed budget request. Unfortunately, the clarity gained was quickly muddled by the proposed $5 billion counterterrorism partnerships fund and the $1 billion European reassurance initiative. At a time when many in Congress are rightfully looking to limit what is an eligible expense in OCO and shift activities to the base budget, these new proposals further complicate the issue.…”