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Secretary Lew, I join Chairwoman Granger in welcoming you here today.
As a former Director of the Office of Management and Budget, you are keenly aware of the factors that go into the preparation of an annual budget proposal. It really is a statement of values.
The administration's Fiscal Year 2016 proposal calls for investments in research, education, training, and infrastructure. Instead of relying on the outdated and unrealistic budget caps under sequestration, the President calls for them to be replaced with more targeted spending cuts, program integrity measures, and the closure of some outdated tax loopholes. The budget, rightly, calls for an end to the mindless austerity of sequestration.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Mr. Secretary, for joining us this morning, most of all thank you for your leadership on behalf of American workers and their families.
"The Department of Labor exists to represent the tens of millions of families who form the bedrock of our society and the engine of our dynamic economy. It helps provide them with stability by protecting their wages, their working conditions, health benefits, and retirement security.
"The economic picture for these hardworking families is decidedly mixed. On the one hand, the unemployment rate has dropped dramatically. At the height of the recession, it peaked at 10.2 percent. Today, it is 5.5 percent.
"In each of the past 12 months, the economy has produced more than 200,000 new jobs – the longest streak of job creation in two decades.
Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), the Ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, today delivered the following opening statement at a Subcommittee hearing on the U.S. Secret Service's budget request for Fiscal Year 2016. The hearing's witness was U.S. Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy.
"Director Clancy, welcome to your first appearance before the Subcommittee, and congratulations on your appointment as Director. I hope you will find us to be tough but fair partners in your efforts to make the Secret Service the very best it can be.
"The agency has endured significant criticism over the last several months – indeed, over the last few years – and, unfortunately, much of it has been justified.
Good morning, Dr. Danielson, Dr. Orr, Secretary Smith and Hoffman, Mr. Kotek, we are so glad to have you all here today. Thank you all for being here today to present your 2016 program requests.
It is no secret that United States reliance on foreign energy imports—America's number one category in our trade deficit—presents a significant strategic threat, as well as a drain on our economy in terms of jobs and productivity. Last year, we turned a corner, producing more energy than we imported. Your offices deserve a great deal of credit for your accomplishments.
Some additional figures help us understand the big frame in which we are operating. For 2014, our overall trade deficit as a country in every category was up six percent, over half a trillion dollars, $505 billion. That was up from 2013, when our trade deficit was $476 billion.
Acting Administrator Lenhardt - as a fellow New Yorker I welcome you to our Subcommittee. I look forward to discussing the President's vision for development and global health. We cannot build the world we want for ourselves and future generations without a strong, stable, and well-resourced development policy.
USAID has spent the last several years endeavoring to rebuild itself as a premier development agency – on the frontlines of poverty reduction and disease eradication – while leading international efforts to advance economic opportunity, health, education, food security, and democracy activities. The efforts of you and your AID colleagues, made possible only by the continued generosity of the American taxpayer, make us all proud.
I would like to thank Chairman Dent and Ranking Member Bishop for holding this important hearing. I would also like to welcome Secretary McDonald and all of our distinguished guests this afternoon.
As the subcommittee reviews the FY2016 President's Budget request, we have the tough mission and responsibility to ensure the funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs adequately addresses some very serious issues. The number of current veterans and those transitioning into the VA healthcare system is staggering. We must ensure that we have the right programs and services these men and women deserve for their service to our nation. We made certain promises to our veterans and we are obligated to deliver.
First, I would like to thank Chairmen Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Visclosky for this hearing. Also, I want to welcome incoming Secretary Carter, General Dempsey, Undersecretary McCord, and the rest of our distinguished guests.
The President's FY16 Budget submission for the Department of Defense is roughly $33 billion above the BCA level. Some of my friends on the other side of the aisle have stated their opposition to the funding levels and revenue portions of the budget request. I would respond that after this committee has cut $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending, excluding sequestration, are you really unwilling to close tax loopholes for corporations and billionaires in order to invest more in transportation infrastructure, education and job training, biomedical research and other R&D efforts, and the military?
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you holding the hearing.
Defense Secretary Carter and Undersecretary McCord, we look forward to hearing you testify before the Subcommittee for the first time in your current roles.
General Dempsey, I understand today's hearing may be your last official appearance before the Defense Subcommittee as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Your steady leadership has helped the Services navigate some very tumultuous years. We thank you for the dedication and sacrifice you and your family made during your 40 years of service.
Gentleman, your statements and responses to our questions play a crucial role in the crafting of the annual Defense Appropriations bill, especially in what I expect to be a very challenging legislative year.
Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement on House passage of the 2015 Homeland Security Appropriations Act:
"I am pleased the House has finally passed the 2015 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, providing critical agencies the resources they need to protect our borders, ports, aviation system, and communities.
"I am hopeful that this experience will make the most extreme elements in Congress think twice about attempting to hold critical funding hostage to enact divisive and ideological riders. The Appropriations process is too important for political games."
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"Thank you very much Mr. Chairman and good morning to everyone. It is a little earlier than we usually start these hearings, but this is such an important topic that it was important to all of us to have the opportunity for the full two hours with the distinguished panel. I am so thrilled to welcome Dr. Francis Collins, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, Drs. Fauci, Volkow, Insel, Lorsch, and Gibbons, to discuss the 2016 budget request for NIH.