Aderholt Remarks at Rules Committee Hearing on H.R. 6363, The Further Continuing Appropriations Act

Statement

"Thank you, Chairman Cole, Ranking Member McGovern, and Members of the Committee for the opportunity to appear before you today.

I'd like to start by thanking Speaker Johnson for his leadership on this continuing resolution and our plan moving forward.

Our nation is still facing high inflation as a result of the massive infusion of government spending during last Congress.

Record-high spending caused record-high inflation, which resulted in an added tax on every American. We must do everything we can in Washington to reverse course and lower that burden on the American people.

This year, House Republicans are changing how we fund the government. We promised to cut wasteful spending, return to responsible funding levels, and consider individual appropriations bills.

Even with the President's late Budget Request and the debt ceiling negotiations delaying our process, House Republicans have continued to make progress in funding the government.

Under Chairwoman Kay Granger, the bills we have considered on the floor are some of the most conservative appropriations bills in history.

To date, we have passed 7 full-year bills, which account for 75% of federal spending. This is in stark contrast to the Senate, which has only passed 17% of funding.

The House and Senate clearly took different approaches on federal spending, which brings me to the bill before us.

Given our differences and that the Senate has only passed three of their bills, we need more time to complete our work.

The two-step plan Speaker Johnson has laid out prevents a harmful government shutdown, gives more time to finish our work for Fiscal Year 2024, and ensures we are not jammed with an omnibus just days before Christmas.

You'll notice this bill doesn't include any emergency spending. We believe those issues -- such as critical funding for our ally Israel -- should be considered separately. I will note that the House already passed an Israel supplemental bill with bipartisan support on November 2nd.

As to the specifics of the CR before us, it extends funding for the Agriculture, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Energy and Water, and Transportation bills until January 19th. The other eight appropriations bills are extended until February 2nd.

This will allow us to focus on a first set of bills while we work out the differences and process the remaining ones.

The CR also includes a handful of limited adjustments to prevent undue harm or delay. This includes an exemption to allow the Department of Defense to continue procuring the second Columbia-class submarine, and a provision to prevent senior executives in the Administration from receiving a pay increase on January 1st.

In closing, I know continuing resolutions are not ideal, and in a perfect world, we would have completed our work for Fiscal Year 2024 and be preparing to start on Fiscal Year 2025.

Unfortunately, that is not the present reality and more time is needed. Speaker Johnson needs more time and deserves our support.

This CR keeps the government open and serving the American people while we work on full-year bills that reflect conservative priorities.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time."

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