Hal Rogers: “Mr. Chairman, H.R. 2670, making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and…”

“Mr. Chairman, H.R. 2670, making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies for fiscal year 2000, provides funding for programs whose impact ranges from the safety of people in their homes, to the conduct of diplomacy around the world, to predicting the weather from satellites in outer space. This bill requires a very delicate balancing of needs and requirements, from ongoing activities and operations of the departments and regulatory agencies, to new areas of concern like preparing to respond to the threat of domestic terrorism or beefing up worldwide security for our embassies overseas, to special funding requirements like the decennial census. This year, our capacity to respond to all of these needs is tempered by the fiscal restraint under which we are forced to operate. The 1997 budget act for 5 years imposed spending restraints in each of those 5 years, in other words, budget caps, spending caps, beyond which we cannot exceed. Mr. Chairman, the piper is at the door waiting to be paid for that party, and this bill represents the piper. This is a very, very austere bill.”