▶ 0:04:43No, it's John.
▶ 0:11:40allocation. This number includes the disaster funding we provide to the Small Business Administration. In drafting the fiscal year 2026 bill, I focused on three priorities. Ensuring fiscal responsibility, leveraging new technology, and strengthening national security. These are priorities on which members on both sides of the aisle should agree and support. I take a moment to briefly describe the bill title by title. Title One funds the Department of the Treasury at 11.3 billion.
▶ 0:12:09This is 20.4% lower than the fiscal year 2025 enacted levels and 5.8% less than the bill we reported out of the full committee last year. Within the Department of Treasury, the bill funds the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States at 21 million, the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at 230.5 million, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund at 276.6 million.
▶ 0:12:38Title 2 funds the Executive Office of the President or EOP. Funding for the EOP is cut by 3.4% 4% from the fiscal year 2025 enacted levels to $830 million within the EOP. The bill funds the Office of Management and Budget at $129 million.
▶ 0:12:58OMB, as a reminder, received a hund00 million in the reconciliation bill, the information technology oversight and reform account at $10 million, and the highintensity drug trafficking area or Haida program within the office of the national drug polic drug control policy or DCP at 299 million and the drug-free communities program at 136 million. Title three of the bill funds the federal judiciary.
▶ 0:13:25Like members of Congress, we need to ensure the security of the Supreme Court justices, our federal judges, and the people that work in the federal court system. The bill provides $18 million for the Supreme Court justices personal security. The bill fully funds the court security at $892 million. We ensure that the administrative office of the United States courts has the funding and a court system needs to strengthen its cyber security and IT modernization efforts.
▶ 0:13:52Moving on to title four, we cut federal funding to the District of Columbia by 4.6% from fiscal year 2025 enacted levels to 823 million. Within this title, we cut $20 million from the emergency planning and security costs in the DC account that were attributable to the inauguration this last January.
▶ 0:14:12However, we ensure the District of Columbia has sufficient funding at $70 million to address the security of public events in our nation's capital during the year 2026 for events like our country's 250th anniversary celebration. Title 5 funds our independent agencies. This includes the SEC, the FTC, the FCC, the GSA, USPS, SBA, and smaller agencies.
▶ 0:14:36Total funding for title 5 is approximately 1 a.5 billion which is 34% reduction from the fiscal year 2025 enacted levels. Finally, the bill continues the important policies that apply across the federal government and the District of Columbia in title 6,7 and 8. Most of these provisions are legacy riders which have been around for years if not decades.
▶ 0:14:58These provisions reaffirm important pro-life protections, defund the disastrous climate rule, stop the buyer defisive uh social policies, prohibit mask and vaccine mandates, protect traditional marriage, codify the reigns act and other critical executive orders issued by President Trump, including eliminating waste and saving taxpayer dollars by consil consolidating procurement, restoring common sense to federal office space management, modernizing payments, to and
▶ 0:15:28from America's bank account and protecting America's bank account from waste, fraud, and abuse. As I said in the beginning, I'm proud of the work the subcommittee has accomplished to date, and I would close by encouraging my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important bill, and I yield back. I now recognize ranking member Hoyer for his five minutes of opening Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Let me start by making an observation, and I know I sound like a broken record.
▶ 0:15:57We have almost a full committee here. Um, and we have people who have listened to all the testimony and have become more knowledgeable on this bill than other members of the Congress of the United States on either side of the aisle. And the reason for having subcommittees is to accomplish object that objective. As you know, I don't consider this a markup because we don't mark it up.
▶ 0:16:27We don't uh take actions that would offer amendments on both sides which feel uh the chairman's mark. But that is how it's operated for some time now. And um I really believe that we ought to return to a time when the subcommittees really did work as opposed to waiting for the full committee. In any event, that's the way it's done.
▶ 0:16:59last week, OM Director Russell Vote said, and I quote, "The appropriations process has to be less bipartisan." That's in the context of the brief discussion M the chairman the big chairman and I had as we closed our last If it's less bipartisan it will be less successful. That's the bottom line.
▶ 0:17:25When we had a four vote majority and you have a four vote majority you know there's some things you're going to have to have bipartisan support for. You're not going to get them done and they need to be done. I imagine vote is awfully pleased with what he has seen from the appropriations committee recently, however, where we have votes and on a very few of them we have bipartisan agreement, but most of them are yes on our side, no on your side or no on our side, and yes on your side.
▶ 0:17:56We keep seeing partisan bills come out of a broken appropriations process. Uh I don't know, Mr. chairman, chairman Cole, whether you saw John Kennedy's uh who's a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he said this just just days ago. We don't have an appropriation process. It's broken. It's been broken for a while. I would agree with Senator Kennedy on that observation.
▶ 0:18:23Our subcommittees have become largely irrelevant with markups like this one become being little more than a pro-form ritual. This deterioration started long before Trump, but it has accelerated under his administration. He and vote are trying to turn the entire appropriations process into an irrelevant rubber stamp.
▶ 0:18:45Frankly, I'm not sure what the purpose of the appropriation committee is if the administration is just going to impound, withhold, and redirect redirect funding illegally as it sees fit and then send recision package for the rest. I know we just passed the recision bill. It's the first one in 30 years.
▶ 0:19:04Republicans and Democratic presidents have been pre They have sent some recisions down, but they haven't passed because we had passed bills in a bipartisan way and we thought the levels were correct.
▶ 0:19:17I know some of my colleagues across the aisle agree with me in principle, but we need to take action to stop this perversion of constitutional law and intent to the benefit of presidential Congress, it seems to me, should not and must not sit idle as Doge chainsaws through the federal government and as Trump politicizes and weaponizes agencies under this subcommittee's jurisdiction, including the FCC, OPM, GSA,
▶ 0:19:47and others. While I'm pleased, as I told you, Mr. chairman, that this bill leaves certain vital areas of funding largely intact, notably, as you pointed out, judicial security, public defender services, and the community development financial institutions fund. But that is little comfort if the administration can now just withhold funding at will. Ours is not a suggestion. It is the law. When the president signs it, we have passed it in a bipartisan way.
▶ 0:20:18There are also cuts in this bill that will have consequences for the American people. This committee funds 96% of the federal government through the Internal Revenue Service. And yet our accounts for less than 1% of the non-defense discretionary budget. Yet our allocations have shrunk even further for fiscal year 20 26 by as you pointed out 1.7%.
▶ 0:20:50and I know that you struggled with that and I appreciate the efforts you have made and the staff has made. Larger agencies under the purview of other subcommittees can trim back grant programs and shift funding around to make ends meet when facing cuts. The only committee that has less money than we do is the ledge committee. Our agencies, however, have smaller budgets and thus have to pair back the their most basic operations just to make ends meet. All to the detriment of the American people.
▶ 0:21:19I am particularly worried, as I'm sure the chairman is not surprised, about the 2.7 billion cut or uh to the uh already insufficient fiscal year 2025 level for the Internal Revenue Service. That includes more than 2.4 billion or 45% cut below the fiscal year 25 enacted for IRS enforcement.
▶ 0:21:48Now, you've given people a huge tax cut, particularly at the upper end. Evidently, it wasn't enough, however, uh to just cut taxes for the wealthiest individuals in America where they're one big beautiful bill.
▶ 0:22:03They want to continue to make it easier for those same high earners and those who don't like average working people in America have us take the taxes out every week, every by week, every These high earners to evade their taxes to the detriment of the hardworking middle Americans. IRS data suggests that every $1 invested in the enforcement yields $7 of revenue return.
▶ 0:22:31That's across the board for the wealthiest Americans. Um, Harvard Treasury Econom and Tre and Treasury Economists found that when targeted at the top 10% of earners, $1 invested in IRS enforcement yields $12 in revenue. My colleagues across the aisle claim they're acting in the interest of fiscal responsibility. But the IRS cuts in their bill will cost taxpayers billions billions of dollars more than it will save.
▶ 0:23:00Some estimates of non-payment of owed taxes being owed over is over $600 billion. That's not raising taxes. That's taxes owed or more than the non-defense discretionary spending combined for every agency. These cuts will also undermine customer service for Americans trying to contact IRS about questions on their taxes. This legislation also, Mr.
▶ 0:23:27Chairman, maintains the pay freeze for civilian federal workers, which Russell Vote instituted as part of his campaign to traumatize the people who make the federal government function and called them villains. What an absurd personnel policy that is. He slanders them. These civilian employees work side by side with their military counterparts, often performing the exact same task.
▶ 0:23:52They deserve a 3.8% cost of living adjustment and to maintain pay par with our military service members. They're after all not members of Congress who of course don't deserve a cola adjustment as we've seen.
▶ 0:24:07uh we are not going to find common ground on every issue of course that I've mentioned but we need to find consensus on preserving this When Russell vote says he wants less bipartisan appropriations process, what is he really saying is that he wants a weaker, more compliant, less functional Congress. I don't care if there's a Democrat or a Republican in the White House.
▶ 0:24:33I will always hopefully stand up for Congress's power under article one. I want to say something in addition to that about the writers. As you know, you pointed out a lot of them have been in there before. We've opposed them before. We're going to oppose them again. Uh but uh I would hope that we could have a discussion about some of them. Thank Thank you.
▶ 0:25:04Um, so for your remarks, uh, I would be remiss if I I didn't point out that I thought I saw a young teammate of, uh, Camp Glusen Camp. Yes. Fresh off the plane. And and had I been thinking properly, I would have taken the time to notice him. It's a young He's truly not missing anything.
▶ 0:25:33With that, I I now recognize the distinguished chairman of the committee, Mr. Cole, for his remarks. Thank you, Chairman Joyce, and thank you to ranking member Hoyer, ranking member of the full committee, Delora, my great friend, and all the members of subcommittee. Today, we continue our work on the FY2026 financial services and general government appropriations bill. This legislation provides important resources for agencies and offices that impact every American, our economy, and the branches of the United States government.
▶ 0:26:04From the Executive Office of the President to the Federal Judiciary, the impact touches everything from national security to the rule of law. Taxpayers demand legislation that responsibly addresses critical needs while systematically eliminating waste. This measure exemplifies that approach and further demonstrates steady and consistent progress in cutting federal spending. This bill cuts $410 million from the FY2025 House reported bill without relying on budget gimmicks.
▶ 0:26:34It's built on hard choices and clear priorities. I applaud Chairman Joyce for making those decisions. This fiscal responsibility doesn't mean sacrificing essential services or investments in our future. The bill supports President Trump's America First goals by strengthening our national security and leveraging investments in technology to ensure the federal government is working smarter, faster, and more efficiently.
▶ 0:27:00Resources are provided to adequately scrutinize foreign investment in the United States from countries like China. The legislation also continues support for programs that prevent and deter terrorists and criminals from using the American financial system. The subcommittee has continued vital funding for programs to strengthen interdiction efforts to stop fentanyl and other narcotics from coming across the border and into our communities.
▶ 0:27:26The bill supports cyber security and information technology modernization efforts across the federal government. Making these imperative investments in technology will ensure government information is kept safe and secure from cyber criminals and foreign actors while also generating long-term costsaving for the taxpayers. The measure also codifies several important executive orders to protect taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse and prevent improper payments.
▶ 0:27:56All in all, it supports hardworking Americans and small businesses by protecting consumer freedom, upholding our financial and judicial system, and driving economic growth. I want to thank Chairman Joyce, Ranking Member Hoyer, and the members of this subcommittee for their hard work over the last several months in crafting this legislation. I look forward to consideration of this bill today. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you, Chairman Cole.
▶ 0:28:24I now recognize a distinguished ranking member of the committee, Mr. the full committee, Mr. Laurel for her remarks. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. A pleasure to be with you, Chairman Joyce, Chairman Cole, uh, both good friends and good friends with ranking member Hoyer. I want to also share my appreciation for the subcommittee staff work on both sides of the aisle. In particular, I want to say a thank you to Matt Smith and to Philip Tazani. Um, let me just say to my colleague, Mr.
▶ 0:28:52Hoyer, I want to express my deep condolences uh to the family of Terrence Taylor. Um he worked incredibly hard for the people of Maryland and uh uh uh and as your uh as your district director and we know how I always say it's a staff that keeps our names on the door.
▶ 0:29:10Uh it's really true and uh so our prayers are are with you and your staff as well as uh you as you mourn the loss of ter and please convey our sentiments to to his family. So thank you.
▶ 0:29:24Um, I oppose the bill before us, uh, which ignores the growing cost of living crisis and instead provides cover for billionaires and the biggest corporations to continue hoarding and stealing wealth while gutting protections that make the economy work for the middle class and for the working class. Americans are struggling with rising costs of everyday necessities and they are struggling every day.
▶ 0:29:54They live paycheck to paycheck. But the president and House Republicans are not laser focused on the cost of living crisis. They are making it worse. Since taking office, President Trump's administration has stolen resources that Democrats and Republicans appropriated for programs and services across the federal government, including many funded by this subcommittee that help make the economy work and keep the playing field level for everyday
▶ 0:30:25Americans and that keep products safe for our children. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vote has orchestrated a lawless upheaval of the entire federal government based on his deluded and debunked views of government and of the law. Russ Vote is an unelected bureaucrat much like those he professes to detest.
▶ 0:30:50He has decided that it's his views, his priorities are superior to the priorities, directives and lawful decisions of the Democratic and Republican represented representatives in the United States Congress. Vote doesn't care about the law. Vote doesn't care about the Congress. He has told us this explicitly. He has stood up Republican members of this of this very committee.
▶ 0:31:18He wants to upend the bipartisan appropriations process and he certainly does not concern himself with the plight of the American people. He wants to govern by reconciliation and recisions thereby getting around or the role of the appropriations committee as it has set out in the constitution.
▶ 0:31:42You know, Grover Norquist, and the number of people around this table who remember Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, said in 2001, he wants to shrink government to the size that you can quote, drown it in a bathtub, end quote, "Vote." Russ Vote is pursuing Norquist's vision.
▶ 0:32:06Russ vote wants a government so broken, so dysfunctional, so star for resources, so full of incompetent political lackey and bereft of experts and professionals that its departments and agencies cannot feasibly achieve the goals and the missions to which Congress has lawfully directed them.
▶ 0:32:24Russ Vot's goal is privatization for the biggest companies and the billionaires running this administration to have unchecked power and an economy that works for them alone, not for the working class or the middle class.
▶ 0:32:39While he unilaterally eliminates agencies, fires career civil servants, steals funding from the American people, he is concentrating power and resources in his agency, determined to give himself unchecked control over the entire federal government. And at the same time, Republicans big ugly bill hands massive tax breaks to billionaires and to corporations.
▶ 0:33:05It also provides Russ Votes Office of Management and Budget with an unprecedented, unwarranted and $100 million windfall. While he shuttles and dismantles agencies that are delivering services the American people rely on, our job is to just say no to his budget request.
▶ 0:33:31And unfortunately, the bill House Republicans have put for put before us goes even further to ensure that the economy works for no one no one but the wealthiest billionaires and the largest corporations. This bill says to billionaires and price gouging corporations, your taxes, we are looking the other way. Your consumer products, we take your word that they are safe. Your scams and junk fees, those are none of our business.
▶ 0:33:59market manipulation and insider trading. Go right ahead. What does this bill say to middle class or working families? You know what they say? You are on your own. On the heels of a massive 4.5 trillion dollar giveaway to billionaires and corporations in the big ugly bill, this bill guts the Internal Revenue Service.
▶ 0:34:22An underfunded IRS means slower processing of Americans tax returns, delays to crucial benefits like the child tax credit. But it also means that those with the most resources like billionaires and powerful corporations can escape scrutiny, avoid paying taxes when the IRS cannot afford to ensure they are meeting their obligations. On average audits audits, each dollar of the IRS spending yields just over $2.
▶ 0:34:51a notable return on investment. But for the wealthiest tenth of 1%, audits produce nearly triple the return with each dollar yielding over $6 in revenue. In 2021, at least 55 of the largest corporations in America, in a year when they took in over $40 billion in pre-tax income, they paid no federal corporate income taxes. Zero. Who are they?
▶ 0:35:21Nike, Ullet Packard, Dish Network, they paid zero federal income taxes, profiting on the backs of honest American families. You know, the US Department of Treasury with the resources that they had, they recovered 1.3 billion dollars from highincome, highwealth individuals. This is in 2024. That was under the inflation uh reduction act.
▶ 0:35:5339 profitable companies paid no federal income tax in the first three years of the Trump tax law as it was in effect. Elon Musk and Tesla, which at one point was valued at $1 trillion, avoided paying federal income tax for three years after Republicans already gave billionaires like Elon Musk more tax breaks. Now they are kneecapping the IRS, thwarting fair enforcement of the tax code.
▶ 0:36:21This bill cuts funding for the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, meaning scam peddling, price gouging, and market manipulating corporations get a green light. Families trying to afford groceries and save for their retirement only get empty promises. These cuts are not just numbers on a page. They have severe consequences for all of the American people. In April, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled several products that pose a danger to toddlers in Connecticut and across the country.
▶ 0:36:52Children's ride- on Tonka dump trucks were recalled due to burn risks. Woodenshaped sorder car toys sold on Amazon were recalled due to a choking hazard. No one in my district told me they voted for more dangerous toys for their children. If I might, Mr. Chairman, just finish. I have just a short to go. Thank you. A 40 840.
▶ 0:37:17Yet the following month, Doge began weakening the Consumer Product Safety Commission Commission, firing commissioners as the administration seeks the dismantling of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This bill furthers their goal, cuts the commission's funding, putting children at risk while enabling corporations to sell dangerous products. And while the Republicans claim they are concerned with election security, they are taking steps to make elections easier to steal.
▶ 0:37:40At President Trump's request, they cut funding for the the Election Assistance Commission by 40%, gutting the independent bipartisan commission that helps keep elections fair and secure. Um, weaker consumer protections, weaker election security. Do they really believe the American people asked for any of this? I just like to make one point and I want to thank the people who have come from the free DC. This bill includes numerous DC riders.
▶ 0:38:11Those impact um uh DC's ability to manage their city. Those uh uh those riders deal with anti-choice, criminal justice, and even traffic enforcement. Americans can't keep up with the ever increasing cost of living. But instead of working with Democrats to make investments that can help lower costs, keep Americans safe, make our economy stronger, Republicans have put forward yet another bill that favors billionaires and corporations.
▶ 0:38:37Yet another bill that does not fight waste, fraud, and abuse, but embraces it. Cannot support this bill. I yield back and I thank the chairman. Yeah, I'll be under five minutes. I'll be I'll be under five minutes. Give me this time. I'm going to make up for some.
▶ 0:39:13Gotcha. No. And and thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, you know, I've been pretty quiet throughout the entire appropriations process this time because I have to disagree with one thing my friend Mr. Hoyer said. This is not a broken appropriations process. This is a demolished appropriations process. We have fully outsourced ourselves to the Thank you. We have outsourced this to the authors of Project 2025, Russ Vote, and others.
▶ 0:39:38And honestly, it's it's it's hard to look at this process and play fantasy Congress. I'm not a big fantasy football player, but uh you know, this is essentially what we're doing. We're going through all the motions, and at the end of the day, none of this is ever going to be real. And I think it's disrespectful to us as members of Congress to not appreciate article one uh of the Constitution that gives us the power of the purse. So, instead, we've got something that essentially comes to us from uh Project 2025.
▶ 0:40:08uh something that uh is so ridiculous that it cuts the IRS enforcement by 44% at a time that we've got a huge uh debt uh because of a bill we just passed. It's going to cut the FTC, which protects consumers and tries to lower costs. Uh we're going to cut the Small Business Administration by 9%. You know, as small business owners, I'm glad we just sold our business a couple months ago after 37 years. I'm glad we didn't have to go through the SBA process. I'd still be waiting for loan approval with the staff reductions that have gone on.
▶ 0:40:37But that's disrespectful to other small business owners. Um I'm looking at the the money, the election security grants asked for 400 million, 15 million are given. This is this isn't even close to a real process. So I've been really quiet because again, I don't play fantasy football. It's hard to play fantasy Congress. It's hard to see the process so disrespected as we are doing right now with this.
▶ 0:41:00Um, and on top of it, just to to give the cherry on this Sunday, uh, we actually increase funding for Doge to continue to do things that take away our allocations that we put out for Congress. And then as we let recisions happen, I don't know about you, but you know, we go through a lot of work to get elected and to come back and forth and to leave our families. I didn't do it to do this. If I want to play fantasy football, I'll I'll get in a league and do it. But fantasy Congress is another thing.
▶ 0:41:30So, I'm not going to take all the time because there's really nothing to say. This is all not going to be real. I just feel like it is disrespectful to all of us to make this such an incredible waste of our time to go through a process that has zero chance of reality. May not even get to the floor, but I'm here. I was on time like I always try to be. And um I'll yield back my two minutes and 23 seconds. Appreciate you being here and on time. It's very thoughtful of you.
▶ 0:42:00Anyone else should be heard? Of course you do, Mr. Of course I do. That's why we went to law school, right? Paid by the word. Um I I did want to take a moment um and and recognize that uh we lost u former Congressman William Clay and um sort of a childhood hero of mine. Oh wow. uh when I was coming up.
▶ 0:42:27Um he served 32 years in Congress, one of the founders of the Congressional Black Caucus. I happened to work for John Conurs. I know him very well, but um I did have a chance to meet him and um terrific guy. You know, was an outstanding man and I was there at Terrence Taylor's funeral today. Congressman Hoyer spoke and uh uh was was outstanding as always. Um equally brief, but uh outstanding as always.
▶ 0:42:55Uh I I did want to say this and I I take Congressman Pokin's comments to heart. Uh to my colleagues on the other side, I would I would say this. We have different philosophies about things that we want to get done. And I know there's been a big focus on waste, fraud, and abuse, but I I need to join with Congressman Hoyer's points about the IRS.
▶ 0:43:16I mean, cutting 2.4 4 billion from the IRS enforcement provision or or section um is the exact opposite of of uh what you want to do if you want to cut waste, fraud, and abuse. Uh Congressman Hoyer hosted a shadow hearing. This is one I guess it's the closest I've come to u uh a substantive hearing um during my time here and he had four former commissioners of the uh Internal Revenue Service come up and testify.
▶ 0:43:47One was Mr. Costkinan um who u said that he looked at the enforcement cuts that had been proposed and he said this is tax cuts for tax cheats. And another one of the commissioners, Fred Goldberg, who served under uh Bush 41, looked at it as well and he said there's at least $250 billion in open cases in the IRS right now.
▶ 0:44:11And so if you wanted to actually do better than what Doge has done from the standpoint of finding cuts and savings, um if you actually went through the enforcement process just on open cases in the IRS, uh you'd beat what they have accomplished or at least alleged that they've accomplished so far.
▶ 0:44:32I I think that um the overall point, and Stenny touched on this a bit, but this $2.4 four billion dollars that we're going to lose over 10 years based on the non-compliance aspect that comes from cutting the enforcement section. And I know that, you know, we've got dis disagreements, some of us, we were having disagreements the other day about what the overall cuts for Medicaid would be and the like, but um I think this is one of those that's pretty much undisputed.
▶ 0:45:02If you have fewer people in enforcement, you're going to have fewer people complying because they know they're going to be able to get away with it. Uh, and you're going to be less likely to go after people who are um very wellto-do and have very complicated tax returns.
▶ 0:45:19Um, I know the arguments you all made about this when when Biden put the uh funding in place was they would focus on, you know, regular people, but uh my understanding is that they would build out a unit that would focus on uh the higher wealth corporations and individuals and that that is one way. We disagree about a lot of things, but you know, getting additional funding with legitimate tax collection, I would think, was something we could all agree on.
▶ 0:45:49And I I I I I'll yield back some of my time, but I do want to say this. Um I think we can find ways to work together on some of these kinds of um this process is a little different than what I'd been used to um even at the judiciary committee if you can believe that.
▶ 0:46:08But yeah, I think if we actually try and find ways to work together on some of these these provisions and you know whether they actually find the light of day and become law, I don't know. But I you know we can try at least at the initiation of this at the beginning of this process find a way to come together with bipartisan legislation.
▶ 0:46:29And I know there's there's some in this and I do appreciate the chairman's efforts on that front, but I hope that this is one that we can reconsider because there's money there to do the things that we want to do. We might disagree about what we would use it for specifically, but there is absolutely no reason to leave this money on the table because this is money that people owe in taxes fair and square. Let's just put the resources there so we can go collect it.
▶ 0:46:58I'll yield what I have what time I have Do they eviscerate the ability to They have a specific provision. You cannot transfer any money in whether they need it or not in the IRS Six seconds over. That's no yield, my friend.
▶ 0:47:25Anyone else wish to be heard here? Mr. Bishop. Mr. Bishop. Excuse me. I'm sorry. I didn't see your hand, my friend. government agencies uh that serve the American public, including the Federal Trade Commission,
▶ 0:47:55the Small Business Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Consumer Product Safety Let's be clear about what the bill really does. It's an assault on working Americans. It's an assault on our democracy and on our core uh to carry out uh the needs of government. Uh it's written in a way that really serves the rich and it guts the institutions that working families rely on every day.
▶ 0:48:26It cuts, as you have heard and you've heard and hear over and over, the enforcement budget of IRS And of course, it's not the most popular agency, but I don't understand how if you continue to ax its budget each year so that billionaires can dodge their fair share while hardworking Americans have higher costs and worse service.
▶ 0:48:50Uh if you take issue with the tax laws, we should change them through the legislative process and not by disarming uh the IRS and taking away the tools that it uses to go after billionaire, multi-millionaire tax cheats. Certainly don't make it harder for everyday folks who just want to pay that taxes that are due uh but find themselves unable to connect with the representative over the phone. Uh it makes things worse for consumers.
▶ 0:49:20It's remarkable how tonedeaf uh it appears that uh this majority is. After President Trump illegally fired two members of the Federal Trade Commission, the bill is completely silent on that matter and in fact it slashes the commission's budget.
▶ 0:49:38Again, the majority can have a difference in opinion on policy, but rubber stamping undemocratic and flagrantly illegal activities is unconscionable and it's an embarrassment to us on the world stage.
▶ 0:49:53How does the American public win when the agency dedicated to preventing unfair trade practices loses its credibility and allows companies free reign to scam people to sell unsafe products and to hike prices without The same is for the product safety. The president illegally fired three Democratic commissioners from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
▶ 0:50:20And here this bill is silent on this unprecedented action while cutting the commission's funding. Talk about adding insult to injury. We could be here all night to talk about unlawful actions, but slicing slashing support for the Small Business Administration and cutting clean energy programs uh that help entrepreneurs save money makes it harder for hardworking small business owners to grow their businesses to create jobs.
▶ 0:50:49Uh on top of the cuts in the bill, it's loaded with more than 60 extreme policy writers taking aim at reproductive rights, rolling back DC's home rule, forcing a far-right agenda, and what should be a straightforward government funding bill. Uh finally, while threats to our election system grow more serious by the day, the bill pays lip service with a pittance of funding for the election security grants.
▶ 0:51:20By not putting money where our mouths are, it's clear that the majority doesn't believe their own words when they say falsely that there's rampant election fraud. They know that election security grant uh provide funding for critical equipment upgrades and it hardens security against our adversaries like Russia, China and Iran who opposed our democratic institutions. We should be doing more not less to help states run safe and secure elections especially as the threats get more complex.
▶ 0:51:50We'd rather leave us vulnerable to for foreign interference rather than putting the fundamental right to vote u strengthening that right to vote. The bill turns its back on the powerful pe the very people that we were sent here to represent. Protects the powerful weakening institutions and ordinary that ordinary families count on. I'm dismayed to say that I oppose this legislation. Uh and I encourage my colleagues to vote no.
▶ 0:52:19But hopefully before we finish this process that uh we can adequately come together on a bipartisan basis uh to come up with a bill that really serves the American people and so then I cannot support the bill and in its present form and I yield back the balance of my time. Right on time. Uh the chair now recognizes the gentleoman from Washington, Miss Glen Camp Perez. Thank you, Chairman Joyce.
▶ 0:52:47Thank you to Ranking Member Hoyer and Ranking Member Deluro, uh, Chairman Cole. Um, a lot of people think of, uh, Washington State, my home state, as just a very liberal place. Uh, people don't know that my district actually had the highest population of KKK west of the Mississippi. We also had the highest population of Wobblies, the IWW, in the entire country.
▶ 0:53:09This is a community with really deep differing views of of what our country should look like and a very strong muscle memory of what it takes to hold a community together of of of what it takes to be in community in a deliberative democracy. We have a very strong election system. We have paper ballots. They are the gold standard in election security.
▶ 0:53:32Um, and at the risk of making this about my district, I will tell you as a warning to all of us, last general election, my ballot boxes were firebombed. They have never caught the person who did it. If you think this can't happen all across the country, we we are setting ourselves up for a very dangerous situation.
▶ 0:53:54The right for Americans to have their voice heard, their voice counted, to have a say in how our country is governed is increasingly endangered in a very manifest. My auto repair shop has better security than our ballot boxes. You know, they've never caught the person who did this. We relied on a on a local bank's picture of their vehicle. Still have never caught this person.
▶ 0:54:19um this is a very real threat to our country and our in our election system and to not uh reflect that in these fundings. I could go there's there are several things that I think are are a good step in here uh focus on manufacturing in this country.
▶ 0:54:36Um, you know, but I I again as a small business owner, we worked our tail off to pay our taxes and it's as uh as my colleague said, um tax breaks for tax cheats is something I can't get I just this is the wrong path to go down and and we can disagree vehemently about what those codes should look like, but the ability to enforce them is um it's a it's um it is a real uh slap in the face to people who
▶ 0:55:06try to act honorably and lawfully and pay their tax bills. Um, and I I worry about what path this is setting us on. And with that, I will yield back the remainder of my time. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else wish to be heard Uh, yes, Mr. Ammedday. I'm sorry to break my string of of of quick subcommittee markups, but I I will I will use the time that was by my colleagues on the other side that wasn't used.
▶ 0:55:35So, it'll all be chewed up at the end. Um, and actually, I'm paying for yours first, Madam Chair, Madame Ranking Member. I'm not going to say I'm just going to say this. Everybody in this room's really good at talking points. Some are phenomenal. And I mean that as a compliment. Phenomenal at talking points. But as I sit here and listen and it's like, okay, I got a talking point for what somebody else says and it says the other thing.
▶ 0:56:05If we don't when we talk about working together and bipartisan, if we don't get beyond the talking points, Mr. Ivy brought up a great point. Hey, there's X amount in uh audits in the IRS. You want to talk about those like, well, that interests me.
▶ 0:56:21But I guess we got to say, well, if you want to fund that, then to get below the talking points and and and you know, the lowest learner days and all that other stuff which is there whether you like it or not, billionaires, lowest learner, nonprofits that are conservative, it's like, okay, so let's go down a couple layers and say if you want to go after those, god forbid somebody call, get the IRS in here and say, hey, if we're going to give you more money to go after that outstanding stuff, how you going to use it? What's your time frame?
▶ 0:56:50What are you going to do? That's not a heavy lift. But as long as we stick with our t and and we got them I mean listen, you got some of the greatest but I I mean Stenny Hoyer he he can't you know he's tongue tied all the time. Rosa Deluro is as well. I I mean David Joyce and the prior committee chairman those guys were just mad dog whatever. And Lord knows the chairman of the whole committee right now is not a smooth talker either.
▶ 0:57:18As long as we stay on that basis, we're going to continue telling you guys when we're in the minority how bad you are, and you're going to continue telling us how bad we are, and nothing will get done. So, fair challenge, but beyond the tax breaks for billionaires or whatever, it's like that doesn't sound good to me, but that's a talking point. That's not And here's the key. Here's the key word. That is not a solution.
▶ 0:57:48I yield back. I I was going to ask if the gentleman would yield. I yield back. I'd love to talk to you. You already yield back. I gota be mindful of my time. Fair enough. If there are no other speakers, oh, Mr. WAC I I I thank the gentleman Stenny Hoyer started this conversation when he talked about a budget uh or a a broken appropriations process and and I've been sitting over here thinking about that during this entire discussion not paying attention.
▶ 0:58:19Um it's it's bigger than the appropriations process, Mr. Hoyer. It's a broken budget process. We get our from a budget resolution passed by the house. Same in the Senate.
▶ 0:58:41And for most of the people gathered around this day, they weren't around here in 2018 when this Congress established a joint select committee on budget process And you remember it. It was a It went nine months. I had the privilege of co-chairing it with the late Nidaloy and we did some remarkable work and we came up with some ideas.
▶ 0:59:11Not entirely perfect. Nothing around here is but we made progress and we had expedited procedures in the Senate. There's no reason we should not have been able to execute something that could have forced an up or down vote in both the House and the Senate.
▶ 0:59:30But I want to remind everybody at this table in case history fails you and that is on the day we took the vote with pretty universal agreement on the ready to go to the floor. We had the requisite five Republicans out of the eight that served on the committee. And we only had two just two, Mr.
▶ 0:59:59Yarmath and Mr. Kilmer, who both believed in the product. But here's what's incredible about that last Four Democrats voted They didn't vote against what we were doing. They voted present.
▶ 1:00:23Now, had we been able to get three of those members in the yes column, then we would have been able to go to the House and to the Senate with expedited procedures and possibly have changed the outcome of this broken budget process, which under a normal circumstance would yield us a 302A.
▶ 1:00:49And so much like everybody else has pointed out here today, we c we can't get out of our own way, we're the And so I I wish there was some energy and some motivation on the part of the present day Congress.
▶ 1:01:08I know that was seven years ago, but if there was some some motivation on the part of Congress to recognize something that is broken and that a legitimate fix would go to right back to that document and to say these are the things we can do and it started with a bianial budget. It included annual appropriations, had a debt to GDP ratio as a metric to try to control some spending issues.
▶ 1:01:36If we could just find our way back down that path, I think we could go a long way toward restoring the credibility of not just the budget committee, but certainly the appropriations committee. I've got a minute left. I think the gentle lady wants me to yield and I'll be happy to yield. Thank you very much. And you know, my uh hallmate, etc. And and we've worked together on on many things in the history.
▶ 1:02:02I I'm I'm not going to disagree with you on the the the difficulties with the budget process alto together. I I just want to take this from the point of view of the appropriations committee. So many around this table have been on the appropriations committee for a number of years. We have been able to craft legislation that gets passed by both Democrats and Republicans, goes to the president for signature, and we have appropriations bills passed.
▶ 1:02:33We've all, I believe, internalized and wanting to be on this committee because of that power of the purse. I think that at fundamentally which is the larger picture of all of this you've talked about the budget but with regard to we are seeding the power of this committee to one unelected person because I I think the president listens
▶ 1:03:04to to um uh Mr. vote but he doesn't know the intricacies of the of the appropriations process or maybe even the budget process. I don't know how much he knows, but Russ Vote does. And he is deliberately every day looking to eviscerate the appropriations committee as the committee that appropriates the dollars and the agencies have to implement them. He is taking it all to himself.
▶ 1:03:33I think we have to be cognizant of that, Democrats, Republicans, of what's happening in this Reclaiming my time and I know my time has expired. I'll yield back. Thanks a gentleman. Thank you very much. As we're getting up to the bewitching hour of voting, so if there are no other speakers or I now recognize Mr. Alfred for the purpose of making a motion. Mr. Chair, I move the bill be favorably reported to the full committee.
▶ 1:04:02Question is on the motion. Those are those in favor say I. Those opposed say no. No. The eyes have it. The motion is agreed Roll call. Recorded vote has been requested and all those in favor of recorded vote raise your hand. Sufficient number have raised their hands in support. A recorded vote is ordered. The clerk will call the role. Mr. Alfred Mr. Alfred votes I. Mr. Ammedday.
▶ 1:04:34Mr. Ammeday votes yes. Mr. Bishop Mr. Bishop votes no. Mr. Cloud Mr. Cloud votes I. Mr. Edwards Mr. Edwards votes I. Mrs. Henson Mrs. Henson votes I. Mr. Hoyer Mr. Hoyer votes no. Mr. Ivy Mr. Ivy votes no. Mr. Joyce Mr. Joyce votes I. Mr. Loa Mr. Loa votes I. Miss Gluen Cap Perez.
▶ 1:05:04Miss Gluen Cap Perez votes no. Mr. Mr. McCann votes no. Mr. Wulmarmac. Mr. Wack votes I. Mr. Cole Mr. Cole votes I. Miss Deloro Mr. Deluro votes no. Does any member wish to record their vote or change their vote? Clerk will tally.
▶ 1:05:42On this vote, the eyes are nine, the nose are six. The bill is favorably reported to full committee. I ask unanimous consent that the staff be permitted to make technical and com conforming changes to the bill and report without objection. are ordered. Copies of the bill and report with the technical and conforming changes will be delivered to all full committee members offices no later than three business days before full committee. Thank you very much everyone uh for being here today and your time and your words.
▶ 1:06:13Uh except for you Ivy and that includes today's markup. The committee now stands