Press Releases

Thank you Chairman Crenshaw. I would like to join you in welcoming Shaun Donovan, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to this hearing.

Today’s hearing serves a dual purpose. We will of course discuss OMB’s specific budget request for this year, and delve into the new initiatives that will help coordinate government-wide responses to pressing issues. But we will also delve into the budget request as a whole, and how OMB has helped put together a coherent and cohesive product that reflects our nation’s values and address its needs.

Thank you Mr. Chairman. This is our first subcommittee hearing of the year, and I look forward to working with you once again. We have a number of important hearings planned, including with some folks who our friends on the Budget Committee don’t feel like meeting with, so I look forward to moving forward with our process.

Assistant Secretary Brownfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary Palmieri, and Acting Assistant Administrator Hogan, I join Chairwoman Granger in welcoming you today.

The news is often dominated by the devastating war in Syria and the resulting refugee crisis engulfing the Middle East and much of Europe. At the same time, but with less attention, we face another deplorable humanitarian tragedy in our own hemisphere.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning, Chairman Burns and Commissioners Svinicki, Ostendorff, and Baran. Thank you for being here today to talk about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 2017 budget.

Nuclear energy is critical component of our nation’s energy mix. As a source of electricity which does not contribute to climate change, it will be particularly important as we strive to meet the targets of the Clean Power Plan and to deliver on the commitments we made to reduce our carbon emissions at COP 21 in Paris.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement on President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget request.

“President Obama’s final budget request of his presidency lays out a fiscally responsible framework to grow our economy and invest in critical priorities that will help hardworking Americans.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the Administration’s emergency supplemental funding request to fight the Zika virus:

“We have all watched with great and increasing concern as the Zika virus has spread across the Americas and into the United States. Given Zika’s impact on American citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and its likely link to fetal abnormalities if contracted by pregnant women, a full and aggressive federal response is necessary.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, today urged Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) to respect the 2015 bipartisan budget agreement by adhering to discretionary spending levels enacted into law.

Full letter follows:

January 19, 2016

Chairman Tom Price
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on the Budget
207 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Price:

The Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act appropriates $1.067 trillion in base discretionary budget authority, pursuant to the two-year budget agreement enacted in November 2015, including:

• $548.091 billion in base defense spending; and
• $518.491 billion in base non-defense spending.

Additionally, the Omnibus Appropriations Act provides $73.693 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding, including: