Articles of itch peachment, our live coveraging beginning at 11 00 a. M. Eastern. On your screen is tom rice, republican from South Carolina. Theyre wrapping up testimony on proposed legislation dealing with state and local tax provisions. Live coverage on c span. Mr. Rice i dont know how it could be subsidizing for communities and states that are donees rather than doe nor states, said to be subsidizing new york. If theres some way that paying 35 billion more than we receive is a subs die di from other states i dont understand the idea or concept of subsidy. We have 30 appropriators outside here. Mr. Raskin i want to associate myself completely with the remarks that mr. Morelle, the gentleman from new york. I represent the great eighth Congressional District of maryland. Maryland is a state in a very similar posture to new york in that we contribute lots and lots of money, disproportionate amounts of money, which i suppose if were looking at it in a kind of as a rule canized, competitive way, were in a kind way, canized, competitive were subsidizing states that payless. The reason im supporting this act, h. R. 5377, is because i think the same reason that Abraham Lincoln was for it which is that this is a double tax. Our people have already paid taxes on to the states and localities to support government public services. I think citizens across the country are paying taxes to states and localities an everybody would benefit by saying lets not impose a second tax on it by having the federal government tax on the money thats already been spent. The massive tax break legislation adopted in the last congress not only shifted 1 trillion to the wealthiest people in the country, but it got rid of the state and local Tax Deduction after 10,000 but it did not do that for corporations. And it did it, in other words, it maintained the theory that you dont want to double tax with respect to corporations but why do we have to endure a lecture that somehow this is unfair to South Carolina or any other state when you seem to clearly accept the principle that you dont do the double tax for corporations . I dont get that. Maybe you could shed only light on that. I yealed back, mr. Chairman. Corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, l. L. C. s, any other form of business, typically under section 162 of the Internal Revenue code can write off all reasonable and necessary business expenses. Thats how the tax code has been set up since the day it was form you write off reasonable and necessary expenses. And taxes are a reasonable and necessary expense of doing business. And if you but businesses, not for people. Its not a business expense for a person who has got a house thats worth 5 million in long island to pay the 50,000 property taxes. Thats not a business expense. That is a personal expense. Republican was talking that corporations were people, but i didnt know they were even more people than people, that we should bebbed over backwards to give them more tax breaks than people. Its not bending over backwards, you allow lem to llow them to deduct reasonable and ordinary expenses. Ms. Chalet lay ms. Shalala id like to thank maryland and new york for understand subsidizing florida, i think it is clearly a subsidy. This has a payfor. We ought to be celebrating that wealthy people are going to pay for this. Because were raidsing their rates. To the pre2017 level. The tax bill did not have a payfor. When we look at the tax code individually, its so complicated and i would argue deliberately then we should look at it holistcally. I would recommend to everyone read the great work on this, he analyzes state, local and federal taxes, the two takeaways from that is the United States has the most regressive total tax system of the developed world and that we are moving away from taxing capital because were competing with a downward trend on corporations. Its like walmart, local communities they keep demanding of federal governments that they get more tax breaks. Competitive, yes, but a disvapping to the clint as a whole. I wish if we did tax reform we do it the way they say we should, look at it holistcally. But coming from the bay area california is the fifth largest economy in the world, the bay area would be the 19th. Theyre high cost areas. Ive been a small businessperson in the bay area. Small businesses are not a monolith. I like being in business in the bay area even though its a high cost area. What this bill does individually is where 64 of the u. S. G. D. P. Comes from are these areas and revenue goes to everybodys benefit. Its frustrating to have this conversation. I want to thank you both for being here, particularly mr. Schneider and the importance of getting this done. These high cost areas are not going to be able to attract the kind of people we have to attract to drive our Global Economy with these kind of costs imposed on them. Thank you very much. I think everyone has been recognized. To the witnesses, thank you for being here. If you have anything youd like to insert in the record, leave it with the stenographer. I dont see any other members who wish to testify on h. R. 5377. Seeing none this closes the hearing on that measure. I would like to call up our colleagues if the Appropriations Committee to testify on h. R. 1158. So good to see you all. Ok. Ok. I would now like to call up our colleagues from the Appropriations Committee to testify on the Senate Amendment to h. R. 1158 and the Senate Amendment to h. R. 1865. I think the first panel will be chairwoman lowey, Ranking Member granger, mr. Rogers, ms. Kaptur, mr. Visclosky and mr. Simpson. Youll probably agree on this one. Well begin with mrs. Lowey. Old on, hold on. First panel is chairwoman lowey, Ranking Member granger, mr. Rogers, ms. Kaptur, mr. Simpson, mr. Visclosky, mr. Calvert. Verybodys here . Anything you have in writing you can enter for the record, you dont have to speak very long, if you dont want to. Mrs. Lowey, we welcome you, congratulate you and ms. Granger for bringing this together and all the appropriators, we begin with you. Mrs. Lowey i thank you for your congratulations but we have a great team here. Ill accept the congratulations on behalf of all my colleagues and all their staff who have brought us that day and i know supportre all eager to this great product. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member cole, members of the rules committee, im proud to present two legislative packages that together comprise all 12 fiscal year 2020 appropriations bills. These bills are the product of bipartisan, bicameral compromise. While theres some things that i would have done differently had i written these bills alone, im very proud of the work we have completed together. These bills raise funding for Critical National priorities. Im particularly proud that we have fully funded a fair and accurate 2020 census, provided money to states to secure their elections, and appropriated 25 million for gun violence prevention research. These are just a few of the highlights of these bills and our cardinals will provide details on many more examples of investments that will strengthen our nation. Of critical importance, the bill limits the administration ility to redirect or deviate from congressionally directed spending levels. Mr. Chairman, the Appropriations Committee is charged with one of congress most awesome responsibilities, the power of the purse. Im proud that we have used that power to make investments that will give every american a better chance at a better life. I requested appropriate rules for Floor Consideration of these packages. Turning to my bill, state and foreign operations, im proud that we have reached bipartisan agreement on a robust bill that rejects the shortsighted, dangerous cuts proposed by the Trump Administration. Our bill provides 54. 7 billion in discretionary funding which f. Y. 2019 lion above and 11. 3 billion above the request. To confront todays global challenges from poverty to civil war, Climate Change to violent exdreamism, our bill provides trong investments in security, humanitarian, and development assistance, basic education, Global Health programs like hivaids, nutrition, t. B. , and ma lair yasm malaria. It continues last years level of 6. 1 billion, 659 million more than the request. It also restores the state departments and usaids staffing to 2016 levels and increases funding for many of our critical partners like the National Endowment for democracy, the global fund, the u. S. Institute of peace, the interamerican foundation, and the u. S. African development foundation. The extraneousw, matter carried in the appropriations bill i dont think i have to do that now, i messed my pages up. Ok. I am concluding now and i thank u for your consideration and im very happy to answer any questions for my colleagues. Thank you very much. Ranking member granger. Tharme mcgovern, Ranking Member cole, members of the committee, thank you for allowing me to testify on the appropriations packages for fiscal year 2020. I wish wed been able to pass these bills by the begins of the days fist call year but im glad to be here today. I have to take a moment to thank my dear friend, full Committee Chair nita lowey for her efforts. Though we dont always agree, she is respectful for other opinions and works in good faith. I want to thank our members for their hard work and leadership this year. Theres a lot in these two packages that is worthy of our support but neither side can win on every issue with agreements like this, so agreements like this are reached. The package of bills before us today will fully fund the government for the fiscal year, ensuring our military men and women in particular have the resources they need. It also will prevent further continuing resolutions or government shutdown, both of which would have had negative impacts on our government and our national defense. I look forward to bringing these bills to the house floor tomorrow, sending them to the senate and getting them to the president s desk before funding runs out on friday. Im happy to answer any questions you may have. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Mr. Ronellers. Mr. Rogers thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Cole, members of the committee. Thank you for letting us come here and plead our case today. Ill talk a minute about the state and Foreign Operations Division on the bill. This is a good bill. Its fair. And it sticks to the terms of the budget agreement. The chair and i may differ on some issues but we represent the priorities of congress and support our National Security in this bill. 3. 3 billion in Foreign Military financing for israel, continued support for key allies and partners at or above the prior year, including egypt, jordan, countries facing russian aggression. In our own hemisphere, the bill prioritizes funding for latin america as the region continues to face instability from the crisis in venezuela. To address the growing threat that china poses to our security. The bill provides robust funding for the u. S. Ind of pacific strategy, and fully funds the request for the Development Finance corporation including 150 million for new Equity Financing tool to help counter harmful chinese debt trap diplomacy. Id like to note that even though the funding allocation for state and foreign operations is below the operations in both the house and senate bills, im pleased that many bipartisan house priorities were protected. This includes increases for Global Health and for the first time in eight years, an increase for International Basic ducation programs. Something our chair has championed for decades. I hope the committee will report out a rule that allows for consideration of this bill in a timely manner so we can complete our work for fiscal year 2020 on behalf of the american people. Thank you, sir. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Ms. Kaptur. Ms. Kaptur thank you, chairman mcgovern and Ranking Member cole, members of this distinguished committee. The energy and Water Division of this bill makes critical investments in energy and Water Systems to sustain life on earth, to combat Climate Change, to build public Water Infrastructure and invest in nuclear security. Id like to sincerely thank our Ranking Member, mr. Simpson, whos been a very constructive, able, and amiable partner in this effort. Our bill rejects the president s shortsighted proposed cuts that would harm our nations interests both for today and tomorrow. Instead, our bill increases investments to meet serious national priorities. Addressing the needs of the future economically and environmentally requires that our nation be at the forefront of global innovation. The energy and Water Division of this bill move ours nation forward on that front. Further, American Companies require advanced means to produce and ship goods efficiency in a highly competitive and uneven globaling marketplace and we seek to advantage them. Finally, ensuring water and electricity for millions of americans is fundamental but there are new, weighty challenges. We provide Additional Support toward those priorities. We achieve this by providing 7. 65 billion for the army corps of engineer, 652 million above 2019, likely our nations premier infrastructure bill for 2020. Providing 1. 66 billion for the bureau of reclamation, 110 million above 2019. Providing 38. 6 billion for the department of energy, 2. 9 billion above 2019. Within d. O. E. , the expect of energy, we responsibly fund our Nations Nuclear deterrent while providing a significant boost for vital nonproliferation efforts and our bill increases the department of energys efficiency and renewable program, the advanced Research Projects agency, arpae, to sharpen americas edge to invest in the future and ensure our nations leadership, security and independence for years to come. The energy and Water Division of the bill invests in innovative programs to yield future opportunities and jobs. Our focus is ensuring future Economic Prosperity and we underpin National Security and bolster Economic Security and trade. Fundamentally our Work Together prepare ours country to mitigate, adapt and manage the awesome challenges of Climate Change suches that such as significant water events across the country including the great lakes region. We are moving in a we are living in a pivotal every rasm i look forward to answer anything questions you may have. Mr. Mcgovern mr. Simpson. Mr. Simpson thank you for allowing us to testify today on the nrnl and water appropriations bill. Id like to thank chairman kaptur and our colleagues in the senate, chairman alexander and senator feinstein for another cooperative and successful conference process. Id like to recognize chairwoman lowey and Ranking Member granger of the full committee for their leadership and support in of this effort. There are a there are a lot of members who wish to testify today so ill be brief. The bill fully funds the maintenance and modernization of our Nuclear Weapons systems. It cleeds the exceeds the annual target for Harbor Maintenance trust fund, and enhances a new Nuclear Reactor programming commercializing the next generation of carbonfree Nuclear Technologies here and around the globe. Im pleased to support this bill and agree with the remarks of chairwoman kaptur and yield back. Mr. Mcgovern thank you, mr. Visclosky. Mr. Visclosky thank you for allowing us the opportunity. I want to thank my good friend and partner, mr. Calvert. The assembly of this bill was bipartisan. Theres a large am of money in the defense appropriations bill, were 4 ppt 6 billion below the administrations request and the bill has 1. 8 billion for natural disasters and includes funding for states such as florida, california, and georgia. We tried to have an emphasis on helping and making sure our Service Members and their families are taken care of. We increased funding for Sexual Assault prevention. Weve added 110 million to upgrade childcare facilities, 45 million of current year levels as far as military schools and their improvement, as well as Environmental Restoration projects in and around bases and the communities in which our personnel live. Wed be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Mr. Calvert. Mr. Calvert its a pleasure to be here. I wish we could have done this hearing some months ago but were like an o. U. Game versus baylor. We may go into overtime but in the end we get it done. I couldnt help that. I couldnt help it. Id like to thank chairman visclosky for his leadership and friendship and courtesy to me throughout the year. After thoughtful negotiation between the house and senate we have a good, balanced bill. I look forward to passing both chambers an getting it to the president for his signature. I agree with everything that the chairman said. Its a good bill. I urge support. With that, thank you very much. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. I want to thank all of you. We have two other panels. Ill try to be as brief as i can. I dont think i think we can get through you and then have you leave. Let me just say this. I want to thank you for the hard work you have done. One, to avoid a shutdown. Two, to avoid a c. R. And get our work done for the year. I think theres bipartisan relief. Again, as has been mentioned, there are things in this bill that i think in the overall package that i like. Some things im not too crazy about. But theres not a lot to do about it at this point anyway. Its been negotiated, its gone. Its done our job is to get it to the floor. I want to thank you and your staffs in particular for the incredibly hard work thats been put into this. Mr. Hastings an can any of you answer me whether or not the ndaa has included in it the federal aviation employees . Mr. Mcgovern i think hes referring to the family medical leave provision. Mr. Hastings all right. And title 38, the v. A. Employees on family medical leave . Thats in another bill. Mr. Hastings wherever it is, is it in the ndaa . I dont know. Mr. Hastings i want to go back gain to the federal aviation employees. There are 35,000 of them. And yes i just want to suggest the it is not unusual that we have extraneous matter carried in the appropriations bill but theyre all being negotiated or have been negotiated in a bipartisan, bicameral manner and the appropriate authorizing committee can provide you with more information about the details of each of these provisions. Well ertainly will pass them on. Mr. Hastings thats deeply appreciated. Ill file a standalone and watch it go through as well. Mr. Mcgovern mr. Cole. Mr. Cole first i ask unanimous consent that, our colleague, mr. Carter, kohn make it, can his statement as Ranking Member be entered . Mr. Mcgovern without objection. Mr. Cole i sit through hearings with all of these folks, i drink and smoke with all of them willing to drink and smoke with me, which is a considerable number. I want to testify to the great work they did. I have the great privilege of shes with ms. Delauro, magnificent. I get to serve with our sadly departing friend, mr. Visclosky who has done a brilliant job on i think the most complex bill in the whole package in defense. I want to thank him for his leadership on the committee for many, many years. Obviously i want to thank my chairman and Ranking Member both of whom have done extraordinary job to put this together. It is amazing, though, how much hard how many freeloaders they pick up with their hard work here at the end of the year. We got quite a few of them on this bill. That they dont bear any responsibility for. A lot of them are things i support. But i particularly support the work that came out of each one of these subcommittees and certainly the wonderful work the chairman and Ranking Member did. Thank you. Mr. Mcgovern i want to ask unanimous consent to insert in the record the statement by chairwoman Wasserman Schultz on behalf of the mill care construction, Veterans Affairs and related agencies appropriations bill. Mr. Mcgovern without objection, mrs. Torres. Mrs. Torres i want to thank each and every one of you. Its amazing to me how much time and how much we are willing to bend to finally, when the Senate Returns our phone calls that youre there at the table. Most of all to the staff on both sides. They work, i know how hard they work throughout the weekend. I very, very much appreciate every single one of you for all of that. Yield back. Mr. Mcgovern mr. Perlmutter. Mr. Perlmutter i want to thank you. We saw you, mrs. Lowey, ms. Granger, a lot, the first month of this year, as we worked our way through the shutdown. Very difficult time for so many people, especially the employees of the United States of america, and im just very happy that youre all here at the end of the year to bring this to a very positive conclusion and i yield ack. Mr. Mcgovern mr. Burgess. Mr. Burgess what can i say. Like you, theres stuff i like, stuff i dont like. Permanent repeal of the Health Device tax, permanent repeal of the cadillac tax if i got my numbers correct, thats numbers 77, 78 and 79 for repeal of obamacare, therell be thatll be burn. Mr. Mcgovern dont spoil the moment. [laughter] mr. Burgess im worried that this the hospital issue hasnt been resolved, its just delayed, i do worry thatll turn into another s. T. R. Phenomenon if we let it go too long. I do encourage, i realize its more than just the Appropriations Committee but we do have to work on that solution for that. Public Health Portions that are part of this bill should never have been left this late. Mr. Visclosky, used to routinely come in and criticize us for waiting until well past the time of expiration so here we are two and a half months past the expiration of many of these things but they are getting done, so i guess i should be grateful for that. I know this represents a significant amount of work, thats not lost on any of us up peer. So we appreciate you bringing it to us today. Avoiding what would be the inevitable consequence of another appropriations lapse. Yield back, mr. Chairman. Mr. Visclosky i was never critical of anyone on the rule committees. Mr. Burgess congress writ large. Mrs. Lowey i want to repeat again something ive said, i appreciate your comments, but youll find some authorizing language in the appropriations bills. And we would be delighted to see the authorizing committees dealing with these bills so they wouldnt be part of the appropriations process. So if you have additional questions, you might reach out to the authorizing committee who asked us to complete this. But i do want to say that none of this authorizing language would be here if it hadnt been negotiated in a bicamera bicameral, bipartisan way, though they should have been done as separate items, not part of an appropriations bill. Mr. Burgess im obligated to point out, your authorizing language for the house authorizers at least at the energy and commerce level was done in plenty of time before the end of the fiscal year. Our difficulty, as always, occurs with the other side of the rotunda. I yield back. Mr. Mcgovern ms. Scanlon. Ms. Scanlon i want to thank you all for your hard work putting this together. As with any compromise legislation, everybody is not going to be happy with everything. It certainly does a lot of great things for my district and im grateful. Thank you. Mr. Mcgovern ms. Lesko. Mrs. Lesko no questions, just want to say thank you for all your hard work. Cgovern mr. Morrelle morrelle . Mr. Morrelle i i think coe that. I want to thank mrs. Lowey, shes here often and were grateful to have her here again. Mr. Mcgovern ms. Shalala. Ms. Shalala i want to they zhang and point out to supporters of baylor theyve only one three times compared to 20 by oklahoma. Mr. Mcgovern so there were no other questions, this wasnt painful at all. He panel is dismissed. Mrs. Lowey i want to thank again our incredible staff who havent had too much sleep. [applause] mr. Mcgovern this panel is bout to leave. The next the next panel is ms. Delauro, mr. Cole, mr. Price, mr. Diazbalart, ms. Roybalallard, and mr. Fleischmann. You can just mr. Mcgovern all right. Everyone is here . Ms. Delauro, well begin with you. The committee will be in order. Ok. Close the door, please. Mr. Mcgovern ms. Delauro, why dont you begin . Ms. Delauro thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Im proud to discuss the appropriation bill for labor, health, and human services, education and related agencies. A thank you to chairwoman nita lowey for her leadership and a personal thank you to my partner, congressman cole, its really a very, very wonderful, strong relationship that we have n this bill. Labor h. Has been shortchanged for year we fought with the senate to win crucial investments. Education, 550 million for childcare and Development Block grants. 550 million increase for head start. 450 million increase for title i. 400 million increase for special education. A new initiative in social and Emotional Learning including 65 million in innovation grants. 93 million increase for minority serving institutions and a 150 increase to the pell Grant Program. In the health area, 2. 6 billion increase for National Institutes of health, 637 million for centers for Disease Control and prevention, including tobacco prevention, Public Health data, modernization and suicide prevention. Full funding for a new h. I. V. Initiative to eliminate new transmissions of h. I. V. Over the next decade and continued high funding for state opioid grants. I was disheartened that the republicans obstructed us from defending Womens Health from the administrations attack on the title x program. Well continue with that long night and we will win in the near term. All womens Reproductive Health must be on equal footing. Proud to say for the first time in 20 years, we have succeeded in getting 25 million for evidencebased gun violence prevention research. It follow ours hear on gun violence research, the first hearing in, again, two decades. The significance of this achievement can in the be understated. Finally, labor, 48 million increase for worker protection, 30 million increase for Work Force Innovation an opportunity acts, state grants, 25 million increase for job corps and a new 40 Million Grant Program for Community Colleges to train people for indemand jobs. A sample of the wins in this positive, hardfought bill. With it we can make opportunity real for the people of this country. Happy to take questions whenever anyone is ready. Mr. Mcgon thank you rr much. Im proud to yield to mr. Cole on appropriations and rules committee, hell question himself. Ms. Delauro let me know about the drinking, i dont smoke but we can drink. Mr. Cole weve had a glass of wine together. I usually prefer something more robust personally but thats fine. As a couple of members of the committee can testify as well. Mr. Chairman, i want to, ill do this again at the end but i want to begin by thanking my chairman, my friend, my working partner, ms. Delauro. Shes been a delight to work with for four years, when i had the privilege of being chairman hes been every bit as gracious and fair and tough and determined as chairman. Im very proud that shes bringing her first bill as chairman in front of this committee. Shes done a wonderful job on this in my view. Im proud of the hard work before us. I forget as i know my chairman i regret as my chairman does that we werent able to complete this bill at the first of the year, thats an institutional problem on the other side. We got our work done on time and in full, were ready to negotiate for months before the senate showed up to do that i will point out, there was considerable compromise. A previous housebased version of this bill really did have an unrealistic allocation, but the bill in front of us delrks 11 billion lower than the bill we voted on. But still allowed for all the increases that my good friend laid out. Im particularly pleased with the n. I. H. Increase to 2. 6 million, thats been a product of bipartisan hard work for five years. I think weve really turned it around. As a congress. In terms of investment in biomedical research. I think it does a lot of good things for the country. I want to thank my friend again for her commitment on the educational front. There are other programs in there like trio and gear up which got increases as well for now successive years. Those are important programs for getting First Generation College kids an opportunity, or College Students an opportunity to go and do something nobody else has been able to do in their family, in many cases. Impact aid, again, thats a very important item in this bill. And again, this bill has frankly , my friend alluded to this, kept all the prolife positions that have been there before. Frankly, we decided we would negotiate programs in money more than language because we have a republican senate, republican president. Theres got to be some differences in those areas. So what some of us might consider disappointments, others of us consider hardfought victories. But thats the nature of a compromise. I want to conclude by thanking chairmanlow pouille wie, Ranking Member granger, certainly my chair, rosa delauro. Mrs. Lowey and ms. Granger are just tremendous leads of the committee in navigating all of us as chairman and Ranking Members through some very difficult decisions to bring us here. Their knowledge of the issues and their perseverance is really impressive. I want to acknowledge the negotiating i asks of the chair of laborh. Scommerk my chairmanning, my partnering, my friend, ms. Der delauro. I believe there are very few members of congress who know this subject matter better than her. I would say none. She knows every line of this bill. She assembled a great staff, and you are staff worked together very, very well. So im very pleased with the product in front of us. I think that i also would be remiss not to just quickly thank our negotiations partners on the other side of the rotunda, senator roy blunt, senator patty murray. We worked this bill together now or five years. Fifth year, i will once again be voting with my chairman who was kind enough to vote with my bill all four tinals final passage after we negotiated. I look forward to voting for her bill on final passage as well. I know our two Senate Colleagues will do the same thing over there. I would just urge people, look, in a bill this big, 192 billion bill, Something Like that, second largest in congress, you can find a lot of things not to like, a lot of things you wish we could have done more on. But if you look at the thrust of the bill, look at the impetus on biomedical research, look at the emphasis on education, the emphasis on First Generation College students, you look at the emphasis on early childhood, its pretty hard to fault a lot of the things that have been done here. Quite the opposite. These are important investments for the american people. Theyve been made in a bipartisan, bicameral way. So i certainly urge all of you to look at these and support the final passage of the legislation. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Mr. Price. , im happy hank you to apear and answer any questions you have about the transportationh. U. D. Appropriations bill. M here with Ranking MemberMario Diazbalart who very ably chaired this sche for a number of years. I was privileged to work as his Ranking Member, our roles have been reversed but our collaboration continues. Its a true pleasure to work with mario. Also our bicameral partners, the four corners, susan collins, yak reed, compatible group. Give us a good topline, well work out a bill in a harmonious fashion and we have done that the th. U. D. Section of the omnibus invests in americas transportation and housing infrastructure with a particular commit to safety, to addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, and to mitigating the impacts of Climate Change and increasing frequency of devastating disasters. We have 74. 3 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of 3. 2 billion over 2019, and 15. 8 billion above the president s budget request. Much of this increased allocation suzz absorbed, im afraid by rising housing costs and rental expenses and decline regular seats for the f. H. A. Declining receipts for the f. H. A. I believe this is a bill we can all proudly support and i urge colleagues to do just that. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Mr. Diazbalart. Mr. Diazbalart chairman mcgovern, thank you. Ranking member cole. Thanks for the opportunity to appear in font of you. I would be remiss if i didnt mention three other people in the committee that were at today, a member of the th. U. D. Subcommittee, mrs. Torres has been an active member, particularly in our subcommittee, thank her for her leadership on this bill and my two dear friends, floridians both, mr. Hastings and ms. Shalala, always a pleasure to see you. To see you. Chairman price and i worked with senator collins and reed to craft a fair agreement to our housing needs. s a total of 74. 3 billion, 1. 53 below the housepassed level. The pressures on this bill were significant, particularly for the chairman. Ill talk about that a little while. We required 2 billion above last year to meet housing inflation. Another 2 billion to make up for lost house regular seept. Thats just before we start even looking teat bill. So we met the allocations by making tough choices where each side sacrificed some of our priorities while making key investments in our nations infrastructure, including 2 ppt 4 billion for highway grants, 1. 4 billion for build grants, 2. 5 billion for ports infrastructure. I got in the habit of calling the th. U. D. Bill the infrastructure bill. These Infrastructure Investments bring real benefit to our communities in so many ways, whether its improving flow of goods throughout the Transportation Network or improving, frankly, the quality of life of the people that were honored to represent back home. This bill also meets our commitment to provide Housing Assistance to our most vulnerable citizens including the elderly, disabled and our hero the veterans. The agreement we reached on these 12 bills shows we can Work Together to meet the priorities of the american people. I think its important achievement that we should not overlook as this bill starts to get us out of the cycle of ndless continuing resolutions. We can agree that these are wasteful and counterproductive. This groups of bill group of bills puts us on the path to get all 12 bills done next year. This is the proper way to exercise our constitutional responsible and something we owe the american people. Once again, i want to thank chairwoman lowey, we have all den that and Ranking Member granger. They led us through this very difficult effort, these negotiations, by working day in and day out and never giving up an never listening to the noise out there. And finally, as i mentioned i would do, i want to end by thanking chairman price. For his friendship, his partnership, i could not i could not ask for a better person to work with. That transparency and the collegial attitude also reflects your staff, the majority staff, the minority staff, and so im extremely grateful and proud to work with chairman price. Again, somebody somebody who now i consider a friend. Im pleased to support these bills. I encourage the committee to pass the rule and get this bill to the house as quickly as possible. I yield back. Mr. Mcgovern ms. Roybalallard. Ms. Roybalallard id like to take this opportunity to thank my Ranking Member, mr. Fleischmann, who has been a great partner in what i believe is probably the most difficult of the 12 bills that we have to deal with. The department of Homeland Security appropriations act provides 50. 5 billion for d. H. S. This is . 2 billion below the budget request and 1. 1 billion above f. Y. 2019 enacted level. This bill significantly enhances oversight of our immigration and detention enforcement activities, including increases of 10 million for a new office of immigration detention ombudsman, 20 million for the Inspector General and 14 million for i. C. E. s office of response to believe the increase detention inspections. The bill increases funding for the office of targeted violence and terrorism prevention, including 10 million for a Grant Program to help communities develop strategies an programs to prevent targeted violence. For c. B. P. , the bill is 43. 7 billion below the 2019 enacted levels while continue to continuing to invest in Border Security technology and the hiring of customs officers. For i. C. E. The bill increases resources for alternatives to detention but does not increase detention beds above the f. Y. 2019 level. There are no increases above 2019 levels for Border Patrol agents, Immigration Enforcement personnel or border barriers. The bill provides resources for t. S. A. To manage increased passenger volume and procure advanced detection technology. The coast guard to meet increased mission requirements, the secret service to management candidate protection for next years president ial election and increased resources for fema Grant Programs including a total of 90 million for nonprofit security grants. The bill also includes multiple oversight reporting directives realing to Immigration Enforcement and detention and allows members of congress to make unannounced oversight visits to detention facilities. Unfortunately, particularly because of the administrations antiimmigrant policy which is are turning back most Asylum Seekers at the southern border, the bill vastly overfunds detention bills at the expense of personnel accounts and funds more miles of border barriers at the expense of higher priorities. It also does nothing to reclaim congress pow ore they have purse by preventing the president from diverting other money to border barriers border barriers and detention bed funding. Mr. Mcgon mr. Fleischmann. Mr. Fleischmann i want to begin with heart fell, sincere thanks to ms. Roybalallard. This was the hardest of the 12 bills and the way in which you have handled this from the inception, i want to thank you. There were some major differences. Lets face it, about 90 of the bill we can agree on but the 10 has been the hard part and we got it done and my sign serest thanks. My sincerest thanks. I want to extend those thanks to ms. Granger and mrs. Lowey our Committee Chair and Ranking Member and to our friends in the senate. And more particularly, our staff. Majority and minority staff have worked tirelessly on this. Being an an appropriator is a privilege. At a time when there are different views in this capital, we come together and work hard and this bill as all the bills, all 12 bills are evidence of the fact that we can actually Work Together, sometimes grit our teeth and say gosh i dont like that. Other times claim wins. But in the ent we got this done for the american people. I believe this is a good bill. I support both of them. The homeland bill provides nearly 1. 4 billion for continued construction of border barriers in high Priority Areas identified by the customs and Border Protection and provides funding for the same level of detention beds in fiscal year 2019 while maintaining the same transfer and prereprogramming authorities. Looking at the bill beyond the investments in border and Immigration Enforcement, there are so many activities, programs, and initiatives that we all agree on across the aisle, across the capitol, and really across the country. Ive said it before. 90 of the funding on this bill we all can agree on. We have solid investments in our great United States coast guard. These are the fine men and women who were punished, wrongfully, earlier this year because theyre not part of d. O. D. These great men and women pmped a Great Mission without pay and thank goodness we are protecting them and their initiatives in this bill. That can never be forgotten. This bill provides desperately needed new air and Marine Assets to them as well as reinvesting in personnel. Weve had plus ups for the secret service to continue leading Law Enforcement, National Special security events and for protection for all, i stress all, of the president ial candidates. Its very important. We have plus ups for the Cyber SecurityInfrastructure Security Agency to help keep our government i. T. Systems secure as well as providing Technical Assistance to states, tribes, and localities. With more than 1. 7 billion for fema disaster relief, which is very important, but i must stress to get funds to all of these important Homeland Security activeties, we need to pass the defense, c. J. Financial services and homeland bills. Further, western support the agreements and fundings proposed in other packages as well. Again, my thanks to everyone th everyone to involved. I would be remiss if i didnt thank my colleagues in the United States senate, mrs. Capito and mr. Tester, for their hard work in getting this bill done as well. With that, mr. Chairman, i yield back. Mr. Mcgovern thank you. And thank you all for your incredible work. These bills arent perfect. To be honest with you, the Homeland Security bill and the defense bill give me a lot of angst. But i know that you have all worked as hard as you could to try to come to some sort of a combination and i appreciate that. I think each members going to have to work out how theyre going to vote at the end. The work you guys have put in, i appreciate it and respect it. And i have no question. Mr. Hastings . Mr. Hastings i have no questions. Mr. Mcgovern mr. Woodall. Mrs. Torres. Dr. Burgess. Mr. Burgess if i could just ask a question of the laborh portion. Someone perhaps on the staff can direct me as to where i can find the funds for the research and development of methods of ombating acute flaccid myalitis. This spikes every other year and while ive been working on authorization language this coming august will be another one of those spikes. So if we dont if we arent doing something now, well miss the next episode where that could increase in frequency. 5 million for c. G. C. For that purpose. Mr. Burgess thank you. I yield back. Govern mr. Perlmutter. Mrs. Lesko. No other questions . Thank you very much. The panel is dismissed. Ms. Delauro thank you very much. Thank you. Tom. Tom. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Mcgovern thank you, lucille. Thank you. Well done. Mr. Mcgovern ok. All right. Ext panel. Next panel is mr. Bishop, mr. Aderholt. Ms. Mccollum. Mr. Joyce, mr. Ryan, ms. Here ms. Herrera beutler, and mr. Graves. With mr. Begin bishop. Mr. Bishop thank you very much, mr. Chairman. And members of the rules committee. I appreciate very much the courtesies that you continue to extend to us as we come to present these bills. I also would like to take the opportunity to thank our chair, ms. Nita lowey, Ranking Member ms. Granger, my subcommittee colleague, the Ranking Member, mr. Fortenberry, who is not here, but im happy that he cared enough to send mr. Aderholt to represent him. Hes on a could he dell. Mr. Aderholt very ably represents the subcommittee as chairman previously. Of course i want to thank our staffs, both majority and minority. They worked together tirelessly and collegially and i think weve come up with a very good bill. I appreciate the opportunity to present our division of the bill. The 2020 ag bill provides 23. 5 billion in discretionary funding, 183 million above the f. Y. 2019 enacted level. In addition, it provides the latest estimates for mandatory programs required by law. I believe that the zip code in which a youngster is born and which his family or her family lives should not prevent him or her from realizing their full potential. I think that this bill goes a long way to achieving that goal by investing nearly 3. 8 billion in Rural Development programs. This includes 545 million in water and waste grants, 640 million for Broadband Programs, including 555 million for the reconnect grants and loans, an issue that has very, very strong bipartisan support. It funds all of the domestic nutrition programs to meet the anticipated needs for f. Y. 2020. We also strengthen snap by ensuring that it will be funded at the 9 billion level and in crease an increase of 3 billion which will provide additional certainty that the beneficiaries would not suffer in the event of a shutdown. With rejected the proposed eliminations of the International Food assistance programs and instead we funded the food for peace and another program at record levels. The bill also makes critical investments in Agriculture Research by providing 3. 2 billion, an increase of 171 million over f. Y. 2019, to ensure that america retains its role as leader of Global Agriculture science. The bill provides 1. 8 billion for farm programs and it provides increased funding to address Staff Shortages at the county offices. F. D. A. Receives 3. 16 billion in discretionary funding, with specific funding dedicated to fighting rare cancers, laying the foundation for more efficient generic drug reviews, improving our resfons foodborne illness outbreaks. The bill funds the Commodities Future Trading Commission at 315 million which is a necessary and a long overdue increase. The subcommittees known for its bipartisanship and id like to thank my colleagues and their staffs for their hard work and cooperation in producing this bill. Thank you very much and i look forward to answering any questions that you might have. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Mr. Aderholt. Mr. Aderholt thank you, mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before the committee today on behalf of Ranking Member fortenberry to discuss h. R. 1865 and in particular revision b. The agriculture Rural Development food and Drug Administration agencies related bill for 2020. Just last year, as the chairman mentioned, i had the privilege to chair the ago subcommittee and i had the honor to work with the now chairman, chairman bishop, and i understand that mr. Fortenberry has also developed a very positive working relationship, thats evident by the legislation thats before us. I sincerely commend chairman bishop and Ranking Member fortenberry for their ability to work hard to find ways to fund in a bipartisan manner the parties of the house. The ag portion of the package includes support for our farmers, ranchers and producers who provide people across the nation and the globe with fresh, safe and diverse food supply. The bill also includes funding streams for building and rebuilding of prit krall infrastructure needed for rural communities. From housing to utilities, economic development. On a particular note, as was mentioned by chairman bishop, the house was able to successfully secure more than more funding for the Rural Broadband and that was through the reconnect Broadband Program that included 555 million, a program that we started two years ago. This represents a great improvement over the senate bill that failed to include any money for this program, for this basic needed utility. The bill includes an additional 87 million for other Rural Broadband initiatives. The bill includes increased funding for Public Health initiatives at the f. D. A. Such as blood safety, opioids, generic drugs and food safety. The bill before us maintains a number of important provisions such as the buy american requirement for water and waste Water Infrastructure, a ban on f. D. A. s acceptance of genetically engineered applications and flexibilities for child nutrition programs. One of the new provisions for the benefit of our youth is the mandate that all Tobacco Sales to individuals be 21 years or older and this mirrors the bill that i had filed in april of this year. So in addition i was pleased to see that the bill maintained the separation of powers, strengthened by the oversight and reprogramming of funds but it allows the move of two Research Agencies to proceed. Pleased to see the bill will now will not include a number of other poison pill rides that are unnecessarily tied the hands of the secretary. While the bill does not include everything we fought for, it provides quite a number of benefits for constituents back home. I thank you for consideration and im happy to answer any questions. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Ms. Mccollum. Ms. Mccollum thank you, mr. Chairman. And Ranking Member cole, members of the rules committee. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the interior environment and related Agencies Division for fiscal year 2020. I want to thank chairwoman lowey for advancing this process, along with Ranking Member granger and i want to thank all the staff on both sides of the aisle for all the long hours that they put in. A very special thank you to Ranking Member joyce, thank you for your gift of buckeyes. I like you so much i will not lutafisk. He gift of [laughter] for fiscal year 2020rks the interior Environment Division provides 36 billion, which is 437 billion more than fiscal year 2019 enacted bill. This bill, though, does reject the cuts proposed by the Trump Administration that would have hindered the ability of the e. P. A. To keep us healthy and zeroed out the water fund. This summer i testified before you about the important programs funded in the house bill. Although we were not able to keep the entire robust allocation, i am proud of what we were able to fund. As a result of our work, the house was able to provide an additional 24 million to e. P. A. Enforcement and compliance activities, the first increase in a decade. The largest increase in a decade for the National Endowment for arts and the humanities, each funded at 1. Excuse me, at 162 million. And the land and Water Conservation fund is at the highest level ever since 2003 with 495 million in new funding. The bill enhances the e. P. A. s ability to protect human health and the health of our environment by providing 9. 08 billion, second highest level ever for the agency. The bill includes an alltime high for Environmental Justice funding, over 10 million. This funding is critical to ensure that every community has the ability to realize the Health Protections that our environmental laws provide. Im also proud that we continued our subcommittees nonpartisan approach to addressing the issues facing our native american brothers and sisters by investing in programs critical to the health, safety and wellbeing of native people. And finally, this bill shows that were serious about addressing the Climate Crisis and recognizes the importance of science in understanding how our planet is changing. We prioritize funding by providing 52 million for Renewable Energy development, 416 million for Climate Change research, and adaptation activities received a 30 million increase. This bill makes important investments in the health of our communities and our environment and id like to thank the members of the rules committee for an opportunity to testify and share. Thank you. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Mr. Joyce. Mr. Joyce thank you, chairman mcgovern, Ranking Member cole and the distinguished members of this kevment its an honor to appear before you today as the Ranking Member on the interior environmental and Appropriations Committee. Im pleased to be here with the chair of this committee, my friend, congresswoman betty mccollum. And whatever youre going to give me from minnesota, it sounded great. These are homemade buckeyes. [laughter] they would go very well with the mcgovern tea and [laughter] [indiscernible] bourbon. [talking simultaneously] mr. Joyce everything goes well with bourbon, i understand. Weve worked over the past month to negotiate a reasonable compromise in order to be able to develop a product and avoid a government shutdown. Its not the bill i would have written but there are things here i may not necessarily agree with, i believe theres so much in this bill that unites us than divides us. There is indeed the conference agreement that provides 36 billion for the department of the interior, Environmental Protection agency, the forest service, the Indian Health service, the Smithsonian Institution and more than a dozen related agencies. This conference agreement enhances our nations Economic Prosperity in many ways. By increasing americans investment in its own Abundant Energy resources, by funding the payment in lieu of taxes program which is critical to counties with federal lands and by investing 1. 8 billion for maintenance and construction at our Nations National parks, wildlife refuge and other public lands that fuels a multibillion dollar tourism economy across our country. Furthermore, this conference agreement also continues to make critical investments in our nations Water Infrastructure by providing 2. 8 billion for the clean water and Drinking Water state Revolving Loan funds and 60 million for the Water Infrastructure finance and Innovation Act Program which will be leveraged with private investments to finance more than 10 billion in Water Infrastructure projects nationwide. This agreement also provides 1. 6 billion for the department of interior and u. S. Forest service to fight devastating wildfires that threaten our communities, introduce the and reduce the severity of future wildfires. This provides an additional 392 million for health care, Law Enforcement and related programs to honor our countrys sacred trust and treat obligations to the American Indians and alaska natives. In closing, i want to sincerely thank chairwoman lowey, Ranking Member granger for their leadership and the staff on both sides of the aisle. It was hard work to get an annual appropriations bill over the finish line once again. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Mr. Ryan. Mr. Ryan thank you, mr. Chairman. I also want to thank mr. Joyce for the buckeyes. I had one missing because we were the last panel. [laughter] a little hungry. Im pleased to join my colleagues in requesting a rule in support of h. R. 1865, division e of the legislative branch appropriations. My thanks to full Committee Chairwoman lowey, her Ranking Member kay granger, and my minority counterpart, representative herrera beutler. Theyve guided me and supported me in my first year taking the helm of the sioux keb subcommittee. Im pleased we have the resources to start on a path to strengthening congressional operations. Funding in this bill totals s. 049 billion for a 213 million or 4. 4 increase above fiscal year 2019. The bill gives members and committees the funding needed to improve their Constituents Services and legislative oversight responsibilities. With this bill, we have been able to increase the members representational allowance, support committee budgets and resfor funding shortfalls in the account that pays house health and retirement benefits. Intern allowance will increase from 20,000 to 25,000 per member office. So that a more Diverse Group can apply without worrying about the financial burden of working for free. The bill includes continues to fund the Wounded Warrior program, as well as the new congressional gold star family fellowship program, which was established this fall. We have provided firstyear funding for both the office of diversity and inclusion, and the office of whistleblower ombudsman so congress has the cools to encourage greater staff dwerts and to effectively handle whistleblower complaints. The bill also includes sufficient funding to extend the select committee on the modernization of congress, we look forward to the implementation of those recommendations. We see increased funding in this bill for c. B. O. , g. A. O. , g. P. O. And the capitol police. Members will be pleased to learn that our bill provides another 13408 for the library of Congress Visitors experience project for a total of 20 million provided to date. Once thats developed, the project will result in better displays of many of the treasures in the librarys connection, clearer communication of the librarys mission and more activities targeted to children and youth. Finally, im pleased that the bill includes a provision that permits an increase in the pay level of senior congressional staff. Now that we will be able to slightly increase the most experienced senior staff, a higher rate will make the house more exet to have recruit highly competitive to recruit highly skilled employees. Id like to thank chairwoman lowy and her team, all of the staff who have put in so many hours, especially over the past few weeks. They go unnoticed many times around the country but theyre essential to what happens here on capitol hill. With that, i yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Ms. Herrera beutler thank you, chairman mcgovern and Ranking Member cole and members of the committee. Committee. Thank you also to my chair of the legislative branch committee, chairman ryan. This is also my first go, leading the helm of this subcommittee. As was shared, i had the recommendation for fiscal year 2020 provides a 5. 049 billion, this is 4. 4 above 2019 level and below the budget request. Im pleased to support some of the items in this bill that i think are really critical that we all share. It supports the capitol police. As well as funding for really important and critical security upgrades to keep the Capitol Campus safe for members and staff and visitors. And also supportive of the funding for the library of congress, the visitors experience enhancements. This is one of the things the goal here is to bring the library outside of the beltway. Only a few of us, of our constituents, regularly could even come to the library. Our goal is to get the library out into the states and into the hands of the people to share this treasure. Finally, the bill supports upgrades to the capitol complex , facilities for visitors and staff with disabilities. This is one of the things we regularly hear about and im pleased that were trying to make this completely accessible for everyone. Again, this is not our building, its the peoples building. Wasnt to make sure that all folks we want to make sure that all folks with all abilities can come and experience it. I appreciate chairman ryans cooperation and support on several initiatives that are important to us and to this institution. Big thank you to the staff who were up all night last night and i respectfully request that this committee grant a rule. That will move this process forward for house consideration. I yield back. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Thank you all again for your incredible work. I now yield to mr. Hastings. Mr. Hastings i have no questions. Mr. Mcgovern mr. Cole. [indiscernible] mrs. Torres. Mrs. Lesko. Mr. Perlmutter. Mr. Perlmutter just a comment. I dont want to rain on anybodys parade. But im glad that minnesota beat ohio state in basketball before last night, before you guys resolved all of this, because it could have been a problem for you buckeye types. [laughter] knowing that your third ranked ohio buckeyes lost to the minnesota gophers last night. But i do specifically want to thank that committee, your subcommittee, betty, because Renewable Energy piece of this is very key to us in colorado. I just want to thank the entire group of you. Im kidding about that, i dont want to sow any dissention on your committee. I thank you for your work. Mr. Mcgovern i think mr. Aderholt had another statement to make. Mr. Aderholt thank you, mr. Chairman. Ill make it short. I just did want to mention the commerce, justice, science and related agencies appropriation act and reiterate my sincere appreciation for everyones support on that. The chairman, mr. Serrano, he was unable to be here today and but i want to thank he and his excellent staff for all the work that they have done to make this a very good bill. It of course includes nasa funding at 22. 6 billion. Thats an increase of 1. 1 billion from f. Y. 2019 level. Also another highlight of the bill includes 7. 3 billion in support for the 2020 census, which is critical for funding for the federal Law Enforcement and also for the departments of justice, f. B. I. , United States marshall service, tobacco, alcohol and firearm and explosives, and furthermore, the bill provides valuable support for our local Law Enforcement back home. All the programs in this bill is very worthy, but i once again like to thank chairman serrano who was unable to be here for his collegial spirit as hes led this committee and i yield back. Mr. Mcgovern thank you very much. Any additional questions . Hearing none, thank you very much. This panel is dismissed. Are there any other members who wish to testify on the appropriations measures . Seeing none, this closes the hearing on h. R. 1158. H. R. 1865, the consolidated appropriations act. Without objection, the committee stands in recess subject to the call of the chair and i would just say that i think we have a dinner break and so people should go have dinner. I think it will be at least an hour but maybe a little bit more from what were being told. Yeah. Im with you. But with that, the committees in recess subject to the call of the chair. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] with the current shortterm spending measure set to expire friday at midnight, the House Rules Committee this evening listening to discussion on the final version of 2020 spending. They will report out the rule in an hour or so we expect. The committee taking a break. We can tell you debate on that 1. 4 trillion spending bill expected on the house floor tomorrow. The house gavels in at 9 00 a. M. Eastern. Live coverage as always here on span. Cspans washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up Tuesday Morning watch cspans washington journal live at 7 00 eastern Tuesday Morning. Join the discussion. Tomorrow, the House Rules Committee decides parameters for the impeachment debate on the house floor. Watch our live coverage of house rules at 11 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan3. Then on wednesday, the house is expected to vote on the two articles of impeachment against president trump. Watch our live unfiltered coverage of the impeachment debate on cspan3, online at cspan. Org impeachment, or listen live on the free cspan radio app. President trump held a round table with governors and local leaders to discuss efforts to cut regulations. This is just under 30 minutes. President trump 33 days where we set a new record. Thats fantastic. Our jobs numbers have come in really well. Were with some of our great governors and other leaders of