Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, everyone. As we begin our final day of consideration of the fy21 spending bills, id like to thank you all for your kind words and well wishes and ask you, please, to indulge me in just a few more reflections. I came to congress in 1989, one of just 31 women in the house and senate and to this committee in 1993 alongside only six other women under the 64member panel. This body is better for the 100 women serving in the 116th congress and for the many women in the room today. Its my honor to address the full committee for my final time as the first woman chair. You know, its ironic [applaus [applause] thank you. Its ironic that back in 1993 i had to choose between serving on appropriations or ways and means. I was fortunate to be given that choice. And today, we markup my final appropriation bills in the ways and Means Committee room. I chose appropriations because i believed it was the best place to give more people a better chance at a better life. After nearly 30 years on the committee, i still believe that. In fact, nowhere else in congress could i have advanced such a diverse range of priorities. In the days of congressionally directed spending, something i hope you all restore, i brought home hundreds of millions to help my constituents directly from transportation hubs, to commuter services, Early Learning and health centers, to Economic Development and job training, school safety, senior centers, flooding relief and more, of course, without those projects ive created new programs including one that protects vulnerable nonprofits at a time of rising antisemitism and hate, like those in my district surrounding the communities that experience a tragic attack at a Hanukkah Party last year. Nationally, we advanced to point away alcohol content for drunk driving that saved countless lives. Following september 11th we funded the new department of Homeland Security and i fought hard for new yorks fair share of its investments in our preparedness and response capabilities. Im so proud of tremendous accomplishments for Womens Health, from protecting and expanding assets, to Family Planning here and abroad, to gains in Research Equity and Breast Cancer research, and securing contraceptive coverage for federal employees that led to dramatically expanding coverage for women today. And let me just say, we will never go back to the days when the National Institute of health excluded women from clinical trials, when even the lab rats were all male. Among many education achievements, we established the first after School Programs that have grown to a billion dollar investment today and served millions of children and families, and it was certainly fun to bring bert and ernie to a hearing to help save pbss federal funding. Despite my passion for these priorities, i bucked conventional wisdom to become Ranking Member on the state and foreign option subcommittee rather than the hh subcommittee. I cant overstate my commitments to our responsible investment to foreign aid bills and make the world better, safer and healthier, while improving the security of generations here at home. At the heart of that work is providing a basic education to the worlds children so that they may thrive and prosper, be healthier, and resilient, to dangerous influences and create a more stable world. So what a moving and rewarding honor it was to have my dear friends, Ranking Members rogers, recognizing my work on basic education by naming that program for me last week in the state and foreign operations markup. While my time as a chairwoman as the Committee Last been short, our achievements together will have a lasting impact. Despite our differences and disagreements or perhaps because of them, we ultimately recognize that the power of the purse, one of most important with the constitution, requires building concensus and puts the interest of the American People first. I took the appropriations gavel in january, 2019 in the middle of the longest partial Government Shutdown in u. S. History. Not only did we reach bipartisan agreement to reopen government, we cleared all 12 fiscal year 2020 appropriation bills through committee and 10 off the house floor before the Senate Introduced a single bill. And we enacted all 12 before the end of the calendar year. As appropriators, we lead by example with common sense and deliberation. Our ability to Transcend Party differences and make hard choices within the constraints of limited funding, makes us worthy of the privilege to hash out the biggest battles of the day through virtual and remote work and in masks and gloves today, this committee is confronting twin crises, one most of us never expected, the other only the willfully indifferent could not have anticipated. In recent months weve led the way to invest trillions to stem the spread of a Global Pandemic, and mitigate the worst of its devastating Economic Impact. The fiscal year 2021 appropriation bills continue those efforts as we address systemic racism, a crisis that has reached a boiling point in recent weeks. We have acted on the urgent need for Meaningful Police Reform and Economic Development and disadvantaged communities that is fundamental to a more justice and Equitable Society that lives up to our highest values and aspirations. We are living through a time of heightened cynicism and polarization, of suffering, and pain, and great uncertainty, with too little compassion and leadership from some at the highest level of power. The old addage you might have heard me say a time or two, that in washington there are republicans, there are democrats, and there are appropriators. In past, perhaps more important now than ever. My parting request to you is this do not succumb to the pervasive partisanship that can permeate what feels like all of our professional and even sometimes our personal lives. Beyond keeping governments store open and lights on, conduct robust oversight and demand accountability and transparency on the use of taxpayer dollars. Defend our constitutional prerogatives against executive overreach regardless of who occupies the white house, or the speakers office. Always strive to use the power of the purse to unlock the full potential of this nation. Over the next weeks and months, i will continue that hard work with all of you. You are at the heart of what makes this the best committee in congress. And if youre looking for a goodbye gift, i would love to get all our bills done by the end of the year. To the other members leaving congress at the end of this turn, my fellow new yorker and dear friend, jose serrano, pete, tom graves, martha roby, and will herd, thank you for your service and i wish you the very best. To my subCommittee Chairs, marcy, pete, jose, rosa, david, lucille, sanford, betty, tim, debby, mike, you have made your mark, not just on your bills and on this committee. Thank you for your steady, effective leadership and friendship. Kay, i can never ask for a better Ranking Member. We took turns as chair and Ranking Member on state and foreign operations and have shown time and again that women get things done. I will deeply miss our partnership and you personally. I would be remiss not to mention former Committee Chairs nacher, livingston, young, lewis, olby, my good friend rogers, friehling hausen that showed me how to do this job well. None of us could fulfill our mandate without the support of excellent staff. All of the successes ive recounted today are more achievements of many others. To the staff in both and committee and my Congressional Office, for a year and a half as chairwoman, six years as Ranking Member and for some, a whole lot longer, i have benefitted immeasurably for your wisdom, counsel, tireless commitment and on more than a few occasions from your technological prowess. One of the benefits of being chair is having the largest and most experienced staff on the hill, from all of our subCommittee Staff led by clerks martha foley, bob bonner, becky, jamie, matt smith, Derrick Newby, rita, steven, robin, steve, joe carlisle to adam bird, jason gray, adam wilson, tom tucker, anna hanson, mike burns, gloria newletter, im pronouncing it wro wrong better. Malkey white in the front office, eric jackson, lonnie johnson, kathy little. I am so grateful for everything you do to make this the very best committee in congress. My Congressional Office staff in washington, including fay, wendy corbin, liz, jane rick tore, steve brenner, Justin Barnes have been invaluable during my final appropriations markup as always. I especially note my gratitude for the extraordinary work of several staffers whom i work with most closely. The director, clerk, shalondi young. [applause] thank you, you took the hint as to why i was silent. My deputy staff director, chris bigelow, an alum of my personal office, Communications Director evan hollander. Legislative director dana acton, deputy chief of staff kelly, and my chief of staff for the last 15 years, the amazing, extraordinary elizabeth stanley. I appreciate the great contributions of former staff, including chiefs of staff scott fleming, howard wilson, matthew trou, Clair Coleman and legislative teams led by jim townsend, mark isaac, jenny lereah, heather howard, beth tritter, jean doyle. At the committee i valued the expertise of former director david pomeranz, leslie, and those who served in my personal office. I enjoyed seeing so many current and former staffers grow in your careers, get married, have children, and even some of you retire before me. Youll always be a part of the lowey family. In conclusion, it has been the honor of my life to serve as chairwoman of this committee. While ill be sad to hand over the gavel, i know that all of us, members and staff, will live by the underlying principle that has guided our Work Together. Do the best we can to make life better for the most people we can. So thank you for indulging me. [applaus [applause] ms. Granger would like to be recognized. What nita said comes from her heart. Ive written these remarks and scribbled all over them. And im just going to talk a little about this woman. When i was going to be her ranking chair, shes going to be chair and im the Ranking Member, i was ecstatic just to have the position. She called me and asked if id come to her office and i did. And she said, welcome, were going to be friends, were going to bring this budget on time, on budget and were going to be best friends. Now, thats one of the strangest kind of things because my staff had warned me before i went to her office, and they said, kay, thats probably the only time youll get to see anything, because the Ranking Member is a chair that has Ranking Member on it. And when she said were going to be friends, she said best friends and i remember it so well because from that time on, thats the way she did it and thats the way thee she brought me in which is really just amazing. And she said, as she said, were the First Committee thats been chair and Ranking Member for two women. And i said well, that couldnt be. We looked, it really wasnt, she missed one. There had been a committee to decide where there was going to be a beauty salon in the capitol. And they named a committee and they studied it for five years before they could make that decision. So we didnt have to live up to everything, but we did become friends and we became partners and when you think of, not a democrat from new york and a republican from texas, and were going to be good friends, best friends and partners, that should have been the most unique thing, but it really because when she said that, she meant that. She said, thats what were going to do so its been it was just a joy always. And then i became chair and she was the Ranking Member and we switched back from time to time and she said very clearly, the difference is whoever is chair gets to make the rules and when and we understood. She was always an honest broker and respected my opinions, and we could always disagree without being disagreeable and wanted nita said i want to set that as the tone so other people can really understand it can be done that way and thats what happened. I think of the most important thing about to know about nita lowey is shes genuine. What you see up here and the way she said thats who she is and her whole life, shes an optimist, but never a pushover in any way whatsoever. I asked her this week about her portrait. I said, nita, i have a question to ask i guess i said, i have a request to make i said when you get your portrait done, i want to make sure youre smiling, you dont want to look like she said ive already done it and im smiling, but that beautiful smile some people would take that as im just a really nice person. She is tough as nails. People would ask me, said im going to go to mrs. Lowey, i know youre a friend or know her. Tell me what to expect. And i said, dont ever take her for granted, shes tough and she knows her business. Nita, i want to thank you for your service and thank you for your friendship and you will not be replaced. You will not be replaced, our country will miss you, our district will miss you and ill miss you. Thank you. [applaus [applause]. Okay. Now we better get to work so you can get to your planes and trains and buses, so thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to address you. I call the meeting of the committee on appropriations to order. And before we begin, house rules now require me to remind you that we have set up an email address to which members can send anything they wish to submit in writing at any of our hearings or markups. That email address has been provided to your staff. Our first order of Business Today is consideration of the department of Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal year 2021. I will now recognize miss roy bell allen to present the bill. Thank you, madam chair and id like to begin by joining colleagues in recognizing chairwoman lowey for her nearly 32 years of service to our country. Her wisdom, her passion and committee on behalf of her constituents and the American People will be greatly missed in the house of representatives and throughout the country. Madam chair, it really has been a privilege and an honor to serve with you. To my Ranking Member, mr. Fleischman, i thank you for your input and collaboration in putting together the bill before us. Its been a pleasure to work with you on this very challenging bill. While there are areas of disagreement, primarily around immigration issues, i believe most of our bill represents a bipartisan agreement. However, i dont want to minimize the disagreements on immigration, they are significant and important. It is unfortunate that over the past three and a half years, progress on a fair and just Immigration Reform effort has been severely undermined by the divisive policies and rhetoric of the Current Administration. This includes the president s continued effort to expound the dreamers, even though the majority of our nation, including Business Leaders, oppose this effort. Americans understand the unfairness of such an action and the pain and suffering it would cause. They also understand the value of dreamers to our country and our future. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the departments personnel who work on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Many have contracted the virus and sadly, they have lost their lives to it. We owe their family sincere gratitude. I also want to recognize the pandemics impact on migrants especially those held in detention facilities. Many have contracted the virus and sadly, some also have died. In my view with infections in ice detention facilities rising, to protect both staff and migrants, alternatives to detention should be used for anyone not a threat to Public Safety, particularly, families. Before discussing the bill id also like to mention three areas the subcommittee is working on. Given the heightened role fema and tsa are playing during the pandemic, we continue to have discussions on additional requirements they may have for fiscal year 2021. We are prepared to address any Additional Needs related to the pandemic, later in the process, based on formal requests from the administration. Similarly, in light of pandemics impact on cbp revenue, we are monitoring the need for additional funding for customers officers salaries in fc fy21. And the revenue is not addressed in our bill because it will not be enacted in time to help. Given the urgency of the matter, it is surprising that the Administration Still has not formally requested supplemental funding for the agency and its work force. Nevertheless, we will continue our bipartisan discussions with the