Political Quotes

“Thank you for the recognition, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 4487, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2015, provides $3.3 billion for the operations of the legislative branch, excluding Senate items. The recommendation is the equivalent to the fiscal year 2014 level and a decrease of $122.5 million, or 3.7 percent, from the requested level. Conforming with the longstanding practice under which each body of Congress determines its own housekeeping requirements and the other concurs without intervention, funds for the Senate are not included in the bill as reported by the committee. Through seven hearings and meetings with agency heads, the committee listened to all who presented their respective concerns and budget requests. It was necessary to make some critical decisions and prioritize programs, and we did this in a bipartisan and transparent manner. We are presenting to the House today a bill that is fiscally responsible and maintains current operations for the Legislative Branch agencies. The bill includes $1.2 billion for the operations of the House. This is equivalent to the fiscal year 2014 enacted level and $20 million below the request. It is worthy to note that the funding provided for Member's Representational Allowances and Committees provides for the current operations, and I do not anticipate further reductions in the coming year. The bill also includes the Members' pay freeze for fiscal year 2015.…”