Hal Rogers: “I thank the chairman for yielding the time. I rise today to commend H.R. 2551, the fiscal year 2012 appropriations act…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding the time. I rise today to commend H.R. 2551, the fiscal year 2012 appropriations act for the legislative branch. Mr. Chairman, this is the sixth appropriations bill that we will have passed through the House out of 12 bills that will be considered. Three more of the 12 bills are waiting, queued up to come before the House. But this is the sixth. This will make us halfway through the appropriations bills for 2012. I want to commend Chairman Crenshaw and Mr. Honda for their hard work and the blood-curdling decisions they've had to make, because this bill deals with our colleagues and us and the operation of this body that we all love. This bill will help stop government overspending starting in our own backyards. If we're trying to get back on a more sustainable course, we've got to cut spending wherever we can, and we've got to make due with less. Our constituents asked us to get our own fiscal house in order, and we're leading by example with this legislation. This legislation prioritizes the safety of the thousands of people who work in and visit the Capitol Complex every day, providing essential funding for the Capitol Police, services for our visitors, and necessary maintenance. But we are keeping to our commitment to reduce spending, and so we've cut back in other areas. We've trimmed the House leadership, Member, and committee budgets by over 6 percent.…”