Additional Continuing Appropriations Amendments
Floor Speech
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Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today is another necessary step in addressing the national imperative of reducing our debt while also keeping the government operating. Essential funds like homeland security are sustained under this bill and sustained in a fiscally responsible way.
Within the more than $6 billion of spending reductions contained in this bill is a rescission of $107 million to Customs and Border Protection, a rescission of unobligated balances requested by the administration for FY11, supported by a minority, passed by this body as part of H.R. 1, and also included in the Senate Appropriations Committee's recently reported bill.
But this bill also sends a very clear signal to the White House and to the Senate. As the Speaker and Chairman Rogers have clearly stated, no one wants a government shutdown. The only people that are talking about a shutdown of the government are those who are avoiding the tough decisions and seeking to shift blame from their own failure to act.
Instead of excuses, the American people want results: less spending and a leaner, more effective government. And that's exactly what this temporary stopgap bill delivers.
I couldn't agree more with what the chairman just stated just a couple of minutes ago. Congress didn't get its work done, and the Senate has yet to provide a viable alternative to the House-passed H.R. 1, a bill that stands as the only year-long spending measure for FY11 passed by either Chamber of Congress. So complaints about a short-term stopgap bill like this CR ring hollow when the House-passed solution has been on the negotiating table for almost a month.
The President's proposed spending level for FY11 is no longer a viable option, a fact acknowledged by not only the administration itself, but also by both parties in both Chambers of Congress. So the time to get to work and fulfill our duty to the American people is long overdue.
Congress needs to deliver what the American people have so resoundingly demanded. I can only hope that the administration and the Senate will also acknowledge the reality of our Nation's fiscal crisis, demonstrate the resolve to reduce spending significantly below the current FY10 level, and come to the table with a viable budget for the remainder of this year.
The American people demand no less.
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