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The 2016 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill would keep MRA and committee budgets flat and prohibit a pay raise for Members of Congress. While a veto threat is not expected, controversial amendments could be made in order.

Highlights and Key Points

2015 Enacted: $3.341 billion
2016 President's request: $3.513 billion
2016 Mark: $3.341 billion
*Excludes Senate items

The 2015 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill would provide:

Before I make my statement, I'd like to take a moment to congratulate Chairman Culberson on his first CJS bill, as well as Ranking Member Fattah and full committee Chairman Rogers, for their efforts.

The House Republican "Work Harder for Less" budget resolution was opposed by every member on my side of the aisle in part because it makes it impossible to provide the funding necessary in the twelve appropriations bills to grow our economy and give hardworking Americans opportunity to succeed. Democrats much preferred the approach taken by the President, calling for an end to the sequester and more reasonable and realistic budgeting that could help families afford college, a home, and a secure retirement.

The Republican bill to fund transportation and housing priorities drastically short-changes job-creating investments critical to hardworking American families, like roads, bridges, and rail systems and access to safe and affordable housing. At the same time, it includes special interest giveaways for the trucking industry and other policy riders that make our roads less safe and our rail system less competitive and meddles foolishly in foreign policy.

2016 mark: $55.3 billion

2016 budget request: $65.0 billion

2015 enacted level: $53.8 billion

*The President's 2016 budget request proposes to fund some transportation accounts via mandatory – rather than discretionary – funding.

Transportation

Appropriations Democrats, led by Philadelphia Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Rep. David Price (D-NC), Ranking Democrat of the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) Subcommittee, and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), Ranking Democrat of the Appropriations Committee, today offered an amendment during full Committee markup of the 2016 T-HUD bill to provide Amtrak the full $2.45 billion in funding requested in President Obama's budget.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I'd like to congratulate Chairman Diaz-Balart and Ranking Member Price in their new roles as chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee, and I thank them and full committee Chairman Rogers for their work.

Last night we saw yet another terrible train incident, with an Amtrak train derailing north of Philadelphia, killing at least six people. Throughout today's markup, I hope we can keep the accident in mind to serve as a reminder of the importance of safety programs funded in the bill.

Mr. Chairman, before we move onto the bill before us, I want to begin by offering my heartfelt sympathy and support to the passengers and families affected by Amtrak train 188 last night. The devastation is massive and the images, many of which were captured by our former colleague Patrick Murphy, are horrifying. As investigators continue to piece together the series of events that unfolded, this Committee must be committed to provide whatever assistance necessary to ensure safety aboard passenger rail systems.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Congratulations on your first bill as Chairman.

I joked during our hearings this year that I was "long in the tooth" on this subcommittee. It is not a subcommittee assignment that many Members stay on for long, as it is the smallest of all the appropriations bills. We spend less on the entire legislative branch of this government than we do on many individual government programs. In the Defense Budget, this entire bill would be but a rounding error.

Thank you, Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz, and Chairman Rogers.

Today we consider the smallest of the appropriations bills, which funds the operations of our nation's legislative branch. Without Senate items, the bill is $3.341 billion. Despite years of "tightening our belts," the Majority has yet again kept funding flat and further damaged this institution's reputation and ability to function at the highest level.