Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, I know especially our ranking member has been looking so forward to having this amendment come to the floor tonight because we have such great, robust discussions every year when I bring this amendment forward. It is calling for a 1 percent across- the-board reduction in the spending that is allowed through this appropriations bill.

The reason I continue each year to move forward with presenting these is because across-the-board spending reductions work. It is a way that you hold the entire agency accountable for making those reductions. It is a way that you say: No, you are not going to be able to reposition money that maybe was for one thing and you really want to spend it on another.

This is money that goes back. You are not going to spend it because the taxpayers continue to tell us they are overtaxed, that government has overspent. And we are piling on the debt every single year. Quite frankly, the American people are tired of it.

I can tell you that, as our millennials come of age and look at government spending, they are, indeed, tired of it. They feel like it is time for this House to get back into good fiscal shape, to get to fiscal health.

Now, I commend the committee for the work they have done. It is $21.7 billion base that is in this bill. It is $2.7 billion below the President's request. It is $1.5 billion below the enacted 2016 level.

This is work that is to be commended, but I really believe there is more that needs to be done. The spending reduction of 1 percent across the board is turning to our Federal employees, rank-and-file employees, and saying: Help us with this. Be a part of the team. Let's push back to fiscal health. It will save us $217 million.

This is something we should accept the challenge on. So should our Federal agencies. We should do this for our children and our grandchildren.

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, a couple of thoughts there.

Across-the-board reductions work. This is what we see our States use. Indeed, in Oklahoma, one of our former colleagues who is the Governor there, December, 3 percent cut, came back in March, 4 percent across- the-board cut because everyone has some skin in the game.

Of course, there are good programs like the Small Business Administration, absolutely, good programs there. But I guarantee you, if you challenge those employees, yes, they can find a penny out of a dollar, absolutely. They can, just like their friends and colleagues at the State level or at local levels. They can do that. They can find the savings. And they need the opportunity to participate in getting our national debt under control and ending these annual deficits.

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, I would remind my colleague across the aisle that it was individuals from his party over in the Senate that chose not to handle the Zika funding last week. That is very unfortunate. Zika is something that is going to be such a challenge for families and individuals during our time, and I find those actions to be most unfortunate.

Another thing that I would like to say, not to see the purpose in spending reductions, we have $19 trillion worth of debt. If we are going to spend over $3 trillion this year, you want to tell me that we don't need to be making some spending reductions?

There is $21.7 billion worth of spending here, so the Appropriations Committee is appropriating money. Many times it is money we don't have. It is money taxpayers do not have in their pockets. And we have children and grandchildren today who are paying for programs that they do not want, programs that we do not need, that have outlived their usefulness, programs that could be more efficient with utilization of new technologies.

Should we be reducing what we spend and right-sizing government and getting Federal agencies off the back and out of the pocketbook of the American taxpayer? You better believe we ought to be doing that. And if it means another penny out of a dollar, absolutely, absolutely, make another reduction.

Challenge employees to come to the table with their best ideas. It is the way Governors do it, the way mayors do it. It is the way this House should do it. I encourage support.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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