Hal Rogers: “I thank the chairman for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bill. First, I'd like to thank…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bill. First, I'd like to thank our colleagues for their careful consideration yesterday of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, which, as you know, passed overwhelmingly in the House. There were only four Members who voted against that bill, and I'd like to ask all of the supporters of that bill to continue on this bill today. It's a very conscientious piece of legislation that I believe can and should pass this body on a bipartisan basis. The bill before you, as the chairman and the ranking member have said, provides $38.9 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. In such austere budget times, this bill rightly prioritizes spending on programs that save American lives. Frontline protection, terrorism prevention and response, disaster recovery, and a strong and secure border, all of these are paramount to the safety and security of our homeland. Mr. Chairman, we are constantly reminded that we can't let our frontline security efforts lapse. The terrible attack at the Boston Marathon underscored the need to support key readiness programs, provide heroic first responders with the funding and equipment they deserve, and improve intelligence and threat-targeting activities so we can help avoid terrible attacks like Boston in the future.…”