Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2010

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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I rise today to commend Chairman Ryan in this effort to craft a sustainable and responsible budget proposal.

This budget represents a valiant effort to effect real change in the way Washington spends taxpayer dollars. This plan couples tangible spending cuts with the entitlement reform necessary to get our budget back into balance starting now and continuing into the long term.

This Republican majority understands that we must end the skyrocketing budgets of the last several years, and this budget reiterates our commitment to smart but limited government spending.

The resolution includes an annual discretionary spending level of $1.019 trillion for next year, bringing us back to the fiscal year 2006 funding levels for non-security programs. This is a reduction of an additional $31 billion from the level that we just passed in the CR.

Based on the experience we've just had in bringing the fiscal year 2011 budget to a close, this will present significant challenges to the Appropriations Committee and the body in the weeks and months ahead. It will not be an easy task, but I know that with the support of House Members, we will rise to that challenge.

In addition, while I commend the budget resolution for making such significant strides to rein in spending and address long-term budget challenges, I do have some concerns over various budget process changes that may have unintended consequences.

For example, the Appropriations Committee may be faced with challenges related to our emergency authority after May 31, the beginning of the hurricane season, due to limitations on the committee's ability to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies.

Along these same lines, there may be challenges related to the committee's flexibility to provide for additional funding--beyond expected needs--for the global war on terror and our military efforts overseas.

I look forward to working with Chairman Ryan and the leadership to address these as well as other process concerns as we go forward.

These matters aside, I applaud this budget proposal. It will help put us back on a path of sustainable spending, allow for job creation and economic growth, and help us make the right fiscal decisions for our Nation's future.

I thank the chairman for the time.

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