McCollum Floor Remarks Opposing So-Called "Security Minibus"

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) made the following remarks opposing House Republicans' so-called "security minibus," a spending bill that includes fraudulent defense spending numbers, guts critical investments in clean energy and advanced energy research, and includes poison pill riders that weaken the Clean Water Act:

I rise in strong opposition to the Make America Secure Appropriations Act of 2018.

Mr. Speaker, we are in a constrained fiscal environment, and we need to make smart choices about the future of our country. So I am disappointed to see that many of the choices that Republican leaders have made in this bill are completely out of balance with the needs of the American people.

Republicans have chosen to exclude eight of the appropriations bills from this legislation: funding for safe roads and bridges to drive on, quality healthcare for families, protection of our clean air and drinking water, and education for future generations. These critical investments that all Americans depend on are left by the way side with no path forward.

Instead, Republicans have chosen to put forward a bill that exceeds the defense cap by $72 billion. With no budget agreement in sight, this bill would trigger the sequestration cuts that our military leaders have warned would have catastrophic consequences for our men and women in uniform.

Republicans have also once again declined to make common sense cuts to defense spending by denying the Pentagon's request for a new BRAC round. Make no mistake, this will waste billions of dollars over the next decade

And at a time when countries like China are emphasizing research and investment in clean energy – Republicans have chosen to eliminate funding for ARPA-E, and gut America's global competitiveness in advanced energy research.

Mr. Speaker, these choices are simply unacceptable to my constituents and to the American people. I urge my Republican colleagues to work with Democrats and put forward appropriate funding levels for all the appropriations bills. I yield back.