Rodney Frelinghuysen: “This legislation before us contains two important Appropriations bills: the Interior and Environmental bill and the…”

“This legislation before us contains two important Appropriations bills: the Interior and Environmental bill and the Financial Services bill. The first of these two bills, the Interior bill, funds important programs that protect and promote our Nation's resources. This includes vital funding to fight wildfires that threaten our communities across the Nation. The bill also invests in critical infrastructure that ensures American families have access to clean and safe drinking water; and, yes, this bill streamlines our Federal Government, returning the EPA to its core mission and cutting back regulatory red tape. The second bill, the Financial Services bill, helps make our Nation a safer place to live and helps our economy grow. The bill also targets resources to programs that will boost economic growth and opportunity, particularly for America's small business people, as well as protects consumers and investors. In addition, the Financial Services bill helps enforce our laws providing necessary funding to support the Federal Court system, stopping financial and cybercrime, and fighting the opioid epidemic. Funding these Federal programs is a responsibility given to Congress by our Founding Fathers as part of the Constitution. Mr. Speaker, our committee has exercised the power of the purse through robust debate over the past 2 days, and now it is time to move forward with this legislation.…”