Marcy Kaptur: “I thank my dear friend and colleague Congressman Dicks. I rise in support of this conference report. This bill is…”

“I thank my dear friend and colleague Congressman Dicks. I rise in support of this conference report. This bill is welcome news and helps restore confidence that America can govern. It is essential to economic growth and job creation in our country, and the bill cuts overall discretionary spending by $7 billion over last year and also $98 billion less than the President's FY12 budget proposal. This bill demonstrates the Appropriations Committee is still one of the few that properly functions in this institution, and I can't thank enough Chairman Hal Rogers and Ranking Member Norm Dicks for their bipartisan leadership and hard work, along with their staff, to bring this House to regular order. This legislation includes vital funding for the defense of our Nation and our domestic imperative. The bill includes support for our Great Lakes ports, as in Cleveland, Lorain, Sandusky, and Toledo, as well as around the country, and invests in their infrastructure necessary to modernize those facilities to increase our exports and increase jobs. It also includes environmental restoration funding needed for the Great Lakes to allow economic revitalization as we create more maritime jobs and nature tourism. The bill keeps our commitment to establish America's energy independence with robust investments in renewable energy in solar, wind, and biomass. The investments in technology for those represent not just jobs for today, but for tomorrow.…”