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Latest Appropriations News
June 8, 2012
Press Release
Months of bipartisan effort and work were swamped in just a few hours as Republicans accommodated and embraced amendments that I believe they would have had the courage and discipline to reject in previous congresses.
June 6, 2012
Press Release
The bill before us provides adequate funding for DHS front line employees so that they can continue to conduct critical operations along our borders; protect our nation's airports and seaports; disrupt the latest plots against the United States and our citizens; and respond to the spate of natural disasters our country has experienced.
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June 6, 2012
Press Release
The $25 million cut to the CFTC will have drastic effects on the American economy and will harm the American taxpayer. 4 years ago, our financial system failed. Over 8 million jobs evaporated. Millions lost their homes. Unregulated swaps played a critical role in the 2008 financial meltdown for instance, the near-failure of AIG was triggered by its substantial swap business. Dodd-Frank got to the root of the problem by charging the CFTC with swap market oversight.
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June 6, 2012
Press Release
Due to House Republican infighting over the surface transportation bill and their unwillingness to compromise in conference negotiations, our Republican Majority has had to resort to place-holder language in this bill for several important transportation provisions, not least of which, the funding level for the federal highway program. The reckless partisan brinkmanship of House Republicans on this traditionally bipartisan infrastructure bill is appalling.
June 5, 2012
Press Release
The IRS budget in this bill is completely inadequate. I'd suggest to my Republican colleagues that if they are serious about deficit reduction, they should not exacerbate our fiscal problems by underfunding the agency in charge of collecting revenue. The IRS now estimates the tax gap", or the amount of tax liability not paid on time, to be $450 billion dollars per year. In short, honest tax payers are burdened with a disproportionate and growing share of the tax burden while tax cheats go unnoticed due to fewer and less stringent audits."
June 5, 2012
Press Release
Like the Financial Services Appropriations bill also released today, this Agriculture bill emphasizes a naive 'self-regulatory' approach with Wall Street. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is cut 41% below the President's request and represents another attempt by Republican leadership to underfund financial reform efforts in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Recent press stories have reported that CFTC would be using its new authority under Dodd-Frank Act for the very first time to investigate the record trading loss at JPMorgan. This investigation is a timely example of why the law was necessary and why the agency should be fully funded.
May 31, 2012
Press Release
Working with Chairman Culberson and the members of the subcommittee, we have crafted a bill that will address the funding needs for military construction and family housing for our troops and their families as well as other quality of life construction projects. In addition, it will provide funding for many important VA programs as well as agencies like the Veterans Court of Appeals and the American Battle Monuments Commission.
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May 31, 2012
Press Release
May 31, 2012
Press Release
This bill, covering the legislative branch, is the smallest of all the appropriations bills. But it funds an entire equal branch of government. We should all feel some personal sense of responsibility when we consider the operations of Congress during consideration of this bill.
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May 17, 2012
Press Release
I am therefore extremely disappointed in the allocation for these critical programs which shortchanges our diplomatic and development efforts, and could weaken America's standing in the world.
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