Rodney Frelinghuysen: “As we conclude discussion on our 12- bill package, I rise to urge support of H.R. 3354 and to thank the 12 chairs and…”

“As we conclude discussion on our 12- bill package, I rise to urge support of H.R. 3354 and to thank the 12 chairs and ranking members who led the great work on these bills as well as the many Members who offered amendments in this open and free and, I may say, rather civil discussion. This package prioritizes our domestic and national security to keep our people safe, supports our troops, strengthens law enforcement, secures our borders, and helps get our economy moving, and it deserves bipartisan support. Over the past week, the House has debated hundreds of amendments in this appropriations legislation. Combined with the thousands of Member requests included in the base text, these bills are truly representative of our shared American values. I want to thank all my colleagues for their time and consideration of one another throughout this process. Tomorrow the House will vote to finalize all 12 appropriations bills before the fiscal year deadline of September 30. We have not had what is referred to and what is called regular order for a long time--in nearly a decade. And what's more, we have done all 12 bills under a very abbreviated time schedule. From June 12 to July 20--just over 1 month--the Appropriations Committee has held 12 subcommittee markups and 12 full committee markups, putting in hundreds of hours debating hundreds of amendments. The legislation on the floor this afternoon is a result of this hard work.…”