Press Releases
May 24, 2018
I must unfortunately oppose the bill before us today. Given its flat allocation of $23.4 billion, this bill does not adequately meet the growing needs of our small businesses, taxpayers, or middle-class consumers and investors.
May 24, 2018
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.
May 23, 2018
“We now understand why House Republicans have tried to keep their fiscal year 2019 priorities secret: they have chosen to shortchange middle class families and vulnerable people in order to fund President Donald Trump’s border wall and deportation force."
May 23, 2018
For the last month, Democrats on this Committee have been demanding to see the full slate of subcommittee allocations. We need these figures to understand how each appropriations bill fits into the larger picture, and whether our work as a whole will meet the needs of the American people. Now, we understand why the Majority wanted to keep secret for as long as possible the priorities it has chosen in the Fiscal Year 2019 spending bills. They shortchange middle class families and vulnerable people, which is why Democrats stand united in opposition.
May 23, 2018
Everyone in this room knows how to avoid another season of showdowns and shutdowns. Instead of trying everything else first, why not do the right thing now? Why not produce bipartisan bills that reflect bipartisan priorities across all twelve subcommittees, and then take them to the floor and pass them, on budget and on time?
May 23, 2018
This Committee should do more to help Americans struggling to make ends meet and put a roof over their heads, not waste taxpayer dollars on Trump’s boondoggle of a wall or let the Secretary of Transportation hire more political cronies.
May 16, 2018
Mr. Chairman, I want to begin by thanking you for your efforts to accommodate the requests of Democratic members. You continue to be accessible and receptive to many of our priorities and it continues to be a pleasure to work with you.
As you have already stated, this year's allocation is $71.8 billion for critical transportation, housing, and community development programs at DOT, HUD, and related agencies. This is $1.5 billion over last year's enacted level.
May 16, 2018
Unfortunately, the majority has chosen to include harmful policy riders that have repeatedly been stripped from previous bills. Provisions to increase truck weights and preempt state and local meal and rest break laws make our roads less safe and have no place in an appropriations bill.
May 16, 2018
I would be remiss if I didn’t say that it will be unconscionable for any of us to help pass spending bills that shift burdens onto working families and the most vulnerable among us. Agreeing to subcommittee allocations bill by bill puts us at a great danger of doing just that.
May 16, 2018
The bill also fails to meet the growing needs of the FDA, which regulates more than $2.4 trillion worth of products consumed by Americans, including foods, drugs, medical devices, and tobacco.