Appropriations & Budget

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Congresswoman McCollum on the Minnesota State Government Shutdown
This week, Congresswoman McCollum responded to the Minnesota state government shutdown on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

This amendment is simple: it cuts $124.8 million from the overall bill.

For all my colleagues who say they are committed to deficit reduction, this is your chance to prove it.

This amendment reduces government spending while protecting the Pentagon's national security mission by reducing the funding for military bands to the authorized level.

Currently, this bill and the Pentagon's budget includes a total of $324.8 million for 154 military bands and more than 5,000 full-time, professional military musicians.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment requires the Department of Defense to limit their spend on motorsports sponsorships for NASCAR, the National Hot Rod Association, the Indy Car Series, or AMA Super Bike Racing to no more than $20 million in Fiscal Year 2012.

With our nation is in a fiscal crisis I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend more than $20 million for taxpayer funded racing teams.

As Members of Congress we need to make choices with the American taxpayers' money.

Congress needs to set priorities that will reduce the deficit and grow our economy.

Mr. Speaker, this week in Minnesota our state government is shutdown due to a budget crisis. I want to applaud Gov. Mark Dayton for negotiating in good faith, making productive compromises, and never forgetting the needs of Minnesotans, especially our most vulnerable citizens.

The Republicans controlling the Minnesota Legislature issue ultimatums and want to mortgage our state's future by cutting health, education, and law enforcement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly object to the Republican majority's mean-spirited $650 million cut to vulnerable women, infants and children. The Republican's Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations legislation, H.R. 2112, chooses to make this drastic reduction to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program at a time of economic crisis for millions of American families. WIC is a proven strategy to guarantee that lower-income expectant and breastfeeding mothers and their children up to five years of age receive nutritious food.