Providing for Consideration of H.R. Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2021
Floor Speech
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Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I thank Ms. Shalala for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the bill we are debating today, in some ways I am reminded of a Clint Eastwood movie. We have some good, some bad, and some really ugly. But this bill gives consideration for fiscal year 2021 appropriations, as the gentlewoman from Florida just outlined: State and Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Administration.
It is appropriate that we are considering these bills. The fiscal year ends on September 30, and we need to provide funding for the next fiscal year; and without the appropriations bills, that doesn't occur.
But we never did a budget this year, and since we never did a budget, House Democratic leadership decided to go without a budget. The only budgetary reference we can make is to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, which did include spending limits. But, unfortunately, today, many of those limits are going to be jettisoned.
So division A of this bill appropriates $65 billion for State and Foreign Operations, including $8 billion in cap-exempt Overseas Contingency Operations funding and $10 billion in emergency coronavirus funding. Funding is continued for important global programs to support maternal and child health; combat AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria; contribute to vaccine administration; and for the PEPFAR program.
Funding to the northern triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras is provided to help those countries create economic opportunities for their citizens, reduce violence, and strengthen the rule of law. The Secretary of State is required to certify that these countries meet certain conditions before 50 percent of that funding can be obligated.
The good news is they have made some recent progress, but we are obligated to continue the oversight of taxpayer-funded foreign assistance to ensure that the citizens of the recipient countries, the citizens, are benefiting and that we are effectively working to combat the drivers of illegal immigration. It is unfair to ask our taxpayers to have to subsidize this activity twice.
However, this division also prohibits the use of funds to implement the Mexico City policy, which requires nongovernmental organizations to certify that they will not perform or actively promote abortion as a condition of receiving United States funds. It also removes conditions that promote transparency and accountability at international organizations, including the World Health Organization.
We know that China withheld information from the World Health Organization. We know that that contributed to the excesses of the global pandemic, under which we now suffer.
It is disappointing that these partisan provisions were included in this bill. We could have had a bipartisan bill to provide for the American people. The poison pill provisions virtually guarantee that that will not be the case.
The Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration division appropriates nearly $24 billion in discretionary funding, $487 million over the fiscal year 2020 level. In the midst of a global pandemic, it is critical that our Food and Drug Administration be fully funded and staffed to stand at the ready to process applications for medical countermeasures as they are developed, things such as therapeutics and vaccines against this novel coronavirus.
The bill continues to fund the FDA Innovation Account. This was part of the 21st Century Cures Act and the various user fee arrangements that have proven to be so successful. But, again, you have to have concerns about the attempts to include authorizing language in the appropriations bill, issues that authorizing committees have not yet debated.
One of the issues is giving the FDA mandatory recall authority. Currently, manufacturers typically recall products if the FDA requests that they do so, because if they fail to act on a voluntary recall, guess what? Big liability for them.
But the FDA also has other tools to keep a product off the market. The section of code that this appropriations bill seeks to amend is specific to controlled substances, which may not be an appropriate place to incorporate such a policy.
Future considerations of such policies should happen within the committee of jurisdiction, which would be the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Agriculture is the lifeblood for many American families, especially in rural communities. This coronavirus pandemic has greatly impacted our Nation's food supply, and this bill works to strengthen food security and promote agricultural research. That is good.
As communities continue to work through the ``new normal'' we are experiencing, with many people working from home and remote learning, efforts to bolster rural broadband are, indeed, critical.
Once more, rather than simply providing for the American people, this bill includes language that would permanently prevent any administration--Republican or Democrat--from making changes to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. This policy would result in working age, nondisabled adults without children not being required to seek employment in times of low unemployment in order to seek benefits. When we are in the middle of a national emergency, flexibility is appropriate. However, the administration should not be permanently barred from making the program more beneficial to both the recipient and the taxpayer.
Next, division C of this bill includes provisions that ensure that our Nation's environment and public lands are preserved for future generations. These funds will be used to combat invasive species, mitigate harmful algae blooms, stop the trafficking of endangered animals. They will also provide essential resources to maintain our Nation's national park system.
Unfortunately, the bill threatens the advancement of fundamentally pro-business and pro-worker policies. It adds unnecessary barriers to administrative efforts to reduce regulation. Eliminating bureaucratic red tape will be the key to unlocking future economic growth, which I would submit is still important.
Division C also threatens the continued development of America's energy resources, thus its energy independence and the thousands of jobs tied to the energy sector. Specifically, it prohibits Federal funds to be used for oil and gas sales on Federal lands and offshore leases in Federal waters. These projects are important to America's economic recovery, they are important to America's national security, and they are important to America's energy independence. We, in the House, should not be limiting the economic opportunities in the middle of a global recession.
Division C of this bill contains many important provisions, but it is pro-regulation and anti-energy in ways that will harm our economy and thus hurt jobs throughout the country.
I would last like to discuss the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs division. As a historically bipartisan committee, I am grateful for the support that the committee has provided for important veterans' programs, particularly in veterans' health and military construction, and for prioritizing military family housing.
We have learned during the past couple of Congresses about the unacceptable condition of private military housing that is part of the military housing privatization initiative. Some reforms were included in last year's National Defense Authorization Act, and my hope is that we can continue the funding and the oversight necessary to ensure that our Armed Forces and their families feel safe in their homes on their bases.
Although I agree with and support the veterans' healthcare programs, I am encouraged by the robust mental health programs and the opioid abuse prevention and treatment assistance included in the bill, it is also a time when we must be at least cognizant of where the Federal Congressional Budget Office estimates are taking us with the budget deficit exceeding over $3.7 trillion for this fiscal year. So I do share some of the other Members' concerns on designating the $12.5 billion as emergency funding and disregarding the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019. Again, we are functioning without a current congressional budget in this session of the House. Why do we even work on spending caps in the first place if we are only going to ultimately disregard them for partisan priorities?
Furthermore, I have serious concerns regarding provisions which would restrict funds for military construction projects, specifically a prohibition on funding for any type of border barrier. These restrictions unfairly jeopardize our military's safety and well-being. We are in the middle of a global pandemic. Mexico agreed to limit border crossings with the United States. So legal and illegal entries have been significantly reduced, limiting unexpected coronavirus transmission to domestic cases. Despite our best hopes, coronavirus cases are increasing, particularly along our southern border and our southern States. Now is not the time to restrict the ability of the President to act to further protect the country.
Last, I would like to note report language that presents pro-life concerns. The language grants flexibility to the VA without pro-life protections, thus including abortion referrals for those referred to outside care resources for services not provided by the Department.
Again, this appropriations package incorporates many provisions that both Democrats and Republicans can agree on. But it disregards the Bipartisan Budget Act agreement and includes poison pill policy provisions that, frankly, I will find, and many Republicans will find difficult to support.
I hope my Democratic colleagues will come to the table and negotiate so we don't abandon the American people as the end of the fiscal year approaches.
With that, I urge opposition to the rule, and I will reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).
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Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Emmer), a valuable member of our Republican House leadership.
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Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
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