On the recordJune 19, 2013
Let me add my thanks to the chairman also for his good work. I know that he has worked very, very hard on getting a bill here to us to vote on, and I commend him and the staff for doing that. I was negligent in not saying that in the beginning of my remarks. So I thank the gentleman from California for his remarks and for reminding me that I should have done that. I want to say that this amendment does not limit in any way the ability of Congress to reauthorize an expired program. Congress is Congress and can pass any laws it wants, in accordance with the Constitution, of course. But this amendment would require Congress to explicitly revive expired programs at the end of the authorization period. What we are trying to prevent is the covert continuance of programs that have not been authorized. We should hold ourselves to a high standard here, Mr. Chairman. We shouldn't be funding programs that aren't authorized. It's just saying we should abide by the laws we pass, and that's what this does. We need to ensure that Congress and the public will thoughtfully reexamine these programs and revive them where they need to be. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield to the chairman of the Agriculture Committee.
