Ranking Member Hoyer Statement at Fiscal Year 2025 Hearing on President Biden's Budget Request and Economic Outlook
Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD-5), Ranking Member of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee's hearing on President Biden's fiscal year 2025 budget request and economic outlook:
- As Prepared For Delivery -
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
That this hearing occurs the same week that we finish our Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations – some six months after the fiscal year started – is a testament to how broken our appropriations process is today.
I know many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including Chairman Womack, share that view.
I am pleased that we are close to seeing final legislative text of a sensible, bipartisan funding deal.
It shouldn't have taken this long, however.
Had my Republican colleagues honored the deal that 314 Members of this House came to last summer, we would have finished these appropriations months ago.
We must avoid those same mistakes as we start our work on appropriations for Fiscal Year 2025.
I believe my friend Chairman Womack shares my hope that we can pursue that mission in a more collaborative fashion.
That includes working with the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that our federal agencies receive the resources they need to enforce the law, build a more resilient economy, and help the American people get ahead.
President Biden's budget proposal is a great template for how we can continue Investing in America.
By supporting the policies included in the Inflation Reduction Act and the other historic laws we passed last Congress, the President's budget would help lower Americans' costs.
That includes essentials like health care premiums, prescription drugs, energy, insulin, and high-speed internet.
As Chair of the Regional Leadership Council, I'm eager to hear from Secretary Yellen about the progress we've made to implement those laws in every corner of the country.
I also look forward to hearing Director Young's insights on the other ways this budget invests in America and in Americans – whether it's expanding access to childcare or ensuring the integrity of our elections.
Crucially, the budget accomplishes all of this while also reducing our deficit by $3.2 trillion over the next decade.
I'm a big believer in fiscal responsibility, as are many of my friends across the aisle.
Fiscal responsibility, however, means looking not only at spending but also at revenue.
That ought to include providing much needed funding to the IRS to enforce existing tax laws.
While the inflation reduction act's funding for the IRS has greatly improved the agency's tax-payer services, we must do more through the appropriations process to support its enforcement efforts.
Every dollar we give the IRS to collect legally owed taxes from high earners yields twelve dollars in return.
If we're serious about reducing the deficit, we cannot afford to ignore revenue owed under laws already on the books.
This is another strong budget, but I'm disappointed that for the first time it doesn't maintain pay parity for military and civilian federal employees.
Instead, it includes a 2 percent cost of living adjustment for federal civilian workers and a 4.5 percent COLA for members of the military.
I hope our guests can shed some light on that discrepancy and on what we can do to resolve it.
I know Secretary Yellen, Director Young, and Chair Bernstein are here to discuss Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations.
Many of us, however, would also like to hear their perspective on one of the most pressing issues facing our Congress today: securing supplemental aid for our Ukrainian and Israeli allies.
They can testify to our allies' dire need for our support – and the severe consequences they will face if we fail to provide it.
I thank our guests for doing their part to support that effort, and I hope Congress will follow suit soon.
And I thank you for working on this budget and for joining us on the Hill today to discuss it.
Thank you.
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