Press Releases
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.
May 16, 2018
The bill again includes several unnecessary and controversial policy riders, including a new version related to the Waters of the United States, ag exemptions from the Clean Water Act, more meddling in California water issues, prohibiting implementation of a National Ocean Policy, and new language legislating an ongoing court case. These riders make moving our bill in a bipartisan manner difficult and I strongly object to their inclusion.
May 16, 2018
Unfortunately, despite a healthy allocation the Majority has gone out of its way to cut Democratic priorities and add poison pill riders, a step backward from the omnibus. DOE initiatives that drive innovation and safeguard our national security, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy, nuclear nonproliferation, and ARPA-E are cut from the 2018 enacted level.
May 15, 2018
Unfortunately, once again the majority proposes to slash the EPA. Even though the proposed reduction is far more restrained than in past years, a $100 million cut is untenable. The cuts target air and water quality programs, and reduce funding to enforce against polluters.