Hal Rogers: “I thank the chairman for that generous offer. Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill. It is a hard-fought bill. It is a tough…”

“I thank the chairman for that generous offer. Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill. It is a hard-fought bill. It is a tough bill, and I want to commend the chairman and the ranking member for their hard work because the allocation to this subcommittee was not greatest in the world. But Chairman Frelinghuysen and Mr. Visclosky, I think, have done wonders with a short allocation. It funds the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation $32.1 billion. That's a cut of nearly $1 billion off of the President's request; and within the bill we've placed the highest priorities on programs that shore up our national security, help tackle skyrocketing gasoline and energy prices, and support American competitiveness. We know this is a bill that can do a great deal to help promote job creation, improve public safety and regional commerce, and help relieve some of that pain at the pump in the future. So we've made those smart investments that will help boost the American economy. Nuclear security programs, as the chairman mentioned, are increased by $275 million over last year. We've made the key investments that are needed to modernize our nuclear weapons stockpile and its supporting infrastructure, advance our nuclear nonproliferation activities around the world, and power the reactors that run our Navy--all in order to maintain the safety and readiness of our national defense.…”