Lowey statement at full committee markup of FY 2019 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill

Thank you, Chairman Graves, Chairman Frelinghuysen, and Ranking Member Quigley, for your work on this bill.

The Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Services bill is inadequate at best and negligent at worst.  It is outrageous that this Republican raw deal does not include a dime for direct assistance to state governments for election security, yet last month we approved subcommittee allocations in which the largest non-defense increase will presumably pave the way to fund President Trump’s border wall and deportation force.  Our committee should focus on the threat right in front of our noses and secure our elections system, not waste billions of dollars on one of the President’s campaign promises that will not make us safer. 

This bill sets aside $585 million for a new account called the “Fund for America’s Kids and Grandkids.”  It will accrue funding but provide nothing until our annual deficit is eliminated.  At that point funding would be spent on unspecified “government efficiencies.” While I applaud the Chairman’s effort, this fund is hard to justify in the wake of the GOP tax scam that, according to the CBO, will raise the debt by $1.9 trillion over the next decade.  Putting this money aside with no specific intentions or details on how to spend itis a farce

Additionally, this bill would undercut important investments in economic development by cutting $59 million from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which would harm investment abilities, revitalization efforts, and job creation in communities all over the country.  And while the bill would level fund Small Business loan programs and important investments to combat the opioid crisis, such as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking and Drug Free Communities programs, with better choices within this bill, we could do more to address these critical areas.

As in previous years, inadequate funding is only part of the story. Poison pill riders continue the Republican Majority’s assault on consumers, women’s reproductive healthcare, and the District of Columbia.   I look forward to revisiting some of these areas during amendment debate.

I am pleased by report language directing USPS to issue a report on the adequacy of personnel levels, the use of temporary employees, and consolidation of distribution centers.  Inconsistent mail delivery has reached epidemic proportions, particularly in my district.  This is unacceptable, and USPS must do better.

Democrats will engage in an appropriations process that invests wisely in essential programs, not an ideologically driven process that only serves to highlight our divisions.  Sadly, this bill fails this basic test.