FY 2027 Labor-HHS-Education and Homeland Security Bills

Oh, the subcommittee on labor health and uh human services, education and related agencies will come to order. Uh welcome, uh good morning everybody to the subcommittee uh for FY twenty-seven, labor health, human services, education and related agencies. Um, preparation Bill, um, wanna welcome uh Chairman Cole. Uh, good to have you here today and um, We will look for and also ranking member DeLauro um who slipped in on me, so it's good uh it's uh good to have her here as always, and she's been a great partner on this bill, so uh but good morning ladies and gentlemen. Um we will we will come to order and I wanna thank everyone for arriving uh so early uh this Friday morning. Uh and the bill before you today I think balances the need for responsible physical stewardship uh while maintaining key investments in biomedical research. America's schools and the core public health. Following the president's directions, we have taken a close line-by-line look at every program that's funded in this bill. And in several cases we had to make some difficult decisions on some so-called things that are nice to have programs. Uh we in Congress, we have to rank uh what our resources are to our greatest need for the nation and uh not uh to the programs that, while they're very well-intended and um a and sometimes they're I I will go they're very well-intended, uh but we have limited resources and uh they'll make limited impact, and so we have to take that into account. While the bill reduces several programs and proposes m many for elimination, it also increases support for America's bio-defense infrastructure, provides long-needed lifelines for rural hospitals and necessary uh funds The bill also responsibly addresses a shortfall in Pell grants while providing a modest increase to students who receive Pell grants. The bill includes provisions that end senseless diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and builds on the success of the Big Beautiful Bill by eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood. Moreover, it also protects the rights of women and girls to play sports, and prohibits federal funding for sex-rejecting procedures and services. The bill maintains the long-standing Hyde Amendment to ensure that taxpayer funds are not used for abortion on demand and that no one is forced to participate in abortion or refer one to a for abortion under federal programs. Uh, and let me be honest. This isn't a right-wing extreme uh policy. This is a mainstream public opinion. The bill also w- once again includes community project funding for numerous health care facilities. Uh, I want to thank all of the members of the committee for working on uh to making this change and I'm proud that um effort to bring back this source of support for hospitals, for health centers, and other safety net providers are included. Um thank you Chairman Cole um and of course also ranking member Delaro I wanna thank um Catherine Salmon and the uh all the committee staffs on both sides of the aisle uh for their work as well as my fellow committee members on on both sides of the aisle. Uh also your uh personal offices were very helpful in making sure that we crafted a the bill that we have here to as we move forward. Um it's taken several weeks to get here and I appreciate all the work that's gone into making this bill. Obviously we will have different opinions uh about the some of the policies in this bill both related to spending on federal programs and also the legislative provisions uh but we'll have ample opportunity to address those differences in full committee mark-up. And I want to remind everyone that we are all elected to represent the views of our constituents, and can do so in a manner that is respectful. And with that, I look forward to a continued discussion of these issues and the full committee mark-up. I would now like to recognize uh ranking member DeLauro for her opening remarks.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and uh uh Chairman Cole, just uh uh it's good to be here this morning uh dealing with uh the uh Labor HHS uh appropriations bill and uh where I think it's the, you know, the center of whatever it is that that Congress does with regard to the overall lives of people in this nation. It this bill touches on every single uh aspect of their lives and uh so uh I view it as a a a a critical uh effort for all of us and I thank you for the uh the work on on the bill. I also wanna say a thank you to the subcommittee staff for all of their work, Steven Stegleiter, Jackie Kilroy, Laurie Bindon, Philip Tiziani. Uh from the minority side, Catherine Salmon, uh Emily Goff, Kirk Boyle, uh Jaime Varela, Michaela Bourdreau, and Alexandra Bendi, who are on the majority side. Thank you for all the work that you do. Uh before I make my comments on the bill, I I want to acknowledge that I believe it's the last subcommittee uh a mark up for Mister Hoyer and uh for uh Miss Watson and uh Watson Coleman here so um and I just wanna say thank you to both of them for th- for their work and Steny, you were on this uh committee of the Labor HHS subcommittee uh long before I got onto the committee and so forth, so you have a great history uh with this effort and it's been a privilege to work with you on these efforts and these issues which I know are so near and dear to your heart and you will be missed uh uh, you know, in this in in this body for you know the uh uh the values and the attributes that you have brought from your years of experience in public service, so thank you very very much. And to our colleague, Bonnie Watson Coleman, uh I would just say she's a force to be reckoned with. Uh I think she uh faces uh uh uh uh she approaches her work with great compassion And with great moral clarity, I might I might add. So uh thank you for being such a fierce advocate uh uh for those who uh a oftentimes don't have a voice in uh what is happening. We will miss you on this committee. So my congratulations to the two of you for remarkable, remarkable careers. And we still have work to do um in the next several months. So uh and now on to the the business before us this morning. Um I think it doesn't come as a surprise that I am opposed to the bill that we are considering today. Uh I think um uh Americans and I think I know Americans are struggling to afford everything from gasoline to groceries from utilities to health insurance, mortgage payments to medical bills. But instead of doing anything to address the affordability crisis, which is a real crisis, it's not a hoax, it's not a con job, as the president claims, this bill makes the problem even worse. Healthcare costs are going up. Hospitals are shutting down, the President's signature piece of legislation, the one big beautiful bill cut Medicaid and nutrition assistance by one point two trillion dollars. It will push fifteen million Americans off their health insurance, and all of this just to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and for the biggest corporations. The President said we do not have the money for daycare for Medicare and Medicaid because, quote, "We are fighting wars." The president wants to increase the defense budget by half trillion dollars. Meanwhile, this bill cuts funding for education, public health, reproductive health, and job training. Horace Mann called education and I quote, " the great equalizer". Lyndon Johnson called it and I quote, " the only passport from poverty". FDR called it, quote, " the real safeguard of democracy". The belief in education as an inalienable right is woven into the fabric of our country. It is a promise we make to each succeeding generation that they will be better off than the last. Yet, this bill cuts eight billion dollars, ten percent, from the Department of Education. That includes a two billion dollar cut to Title I grants, which will push tens of thousands of teachers out of their classrooms, leave countless children with a worse education. This is a step down the path toward eliminating public education in this nation, but I believe that that is the ultimate goal of the majority. As new technology upends the workforce and inflation outpaces wage growth, this bill eviscerates funding for employment and training programs by three point three billion dollars one third below the twenty twenty-six level. It eliminates funding for adult and youth job entirely while cutting funding for the Job Corps in half. This bill cuts funding for health and human service programs by four and a half billion dollars including a one billion dollar cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The majority of these cuts target programs that combat the HIV age epidemic jeopardizing the extraordinary progress we have made toward defeating this disease. The recent Ebola outbreak threatens to become the deadliest in history But this li- bill leaves funding for the CDC, the g- global health a- uh activity stagnant, which will not be nearly enough to sustain our global presence after the State Department's decision to restructure the PEPFAR program. This bill continues a decades-long Republican crusade against women's reproductive health. Even now, years after Roe was overturned, they are still pushing to restrict access to reproductive care, regardless of what state you are in. The bill cuts funding for title ten family planning, leaving two point six million men and women without access to preventive care services, including cancer screening, diabetes screenings, mental health services, and contraception. It eliminates the teen pregnancy prevention program entirely, and it includes dozens of partisan provisions that target reproductive health care access. And as if the big The health care cuts and the big beautiful bill were not enough. This bill cuts two billion dollars in operations funding from the Affordable Care Act marketplace, threatening health care coverage for millions of Americans. Even if you qualify for an affordable plan through the program, you will have a harder time accessing it. The Trump administration and House Republicans are squeezing American families from both ends, increasing costs of daily necessities while hollowing out health education, nutrition, and housing programs that help families make ends meet. Despite these objections, uh and I would ju- I'd just say very honestly there are some bright spots in this bill that deserve recognition. First, I'm glad to see the overall funding level for the National Institutes of Health is increased under this bill, especially targeted increases for research on cancer, Alzheimer's, ALS, diabetes, women's health, and rare diseases. Second, during our subcommittee hearing on the science of reading earlier this year, I called for this committee to re-establish a national reading panel to explore ways to improve how we teach our children to read. I am pleased that this committee has answered that call, and I want to commend Congressman Harder for his advocacy on this issue. I support these provisions and applaud their inclusion. However, I remain overwhelmingly opposed to the legislation as a whole. Taken together, the bill undermines education. It jeopardizes public health, and it limits workers' opportunities. It does nothing to address the rising cost of living, while stripping away crucial support that helps families who are in aggregating an affordability crisis. I encourage a no vote on this legislation. Call on my Republican colleagues to work with Democrats to craft a bill that meets the needs that the American people are facing. Thank you and I yield back.

Thank you uh, Ranking Member DeLauro, uh I would now like to recognize the um distinguished Chairman of the committee, Mister Koh for his remarks.

Thank you very much, Mister Chairman, before I get to my formal remarks, I wanna associate myself with my good friend, the Ranking Member, about uh Mister Hoyer and and uh Miss Watson Coleman. Uh we're gonna really miss you guys. Now, not every day and maybe not and not in every debate, because you're are so good at what you do. Uh, but uh, I remember uh obviously uh, you know, Miss Torrey I had the opportunity to work with you in many capacities over many years, but uh Bonnie when you were coming on the committee, Rosa was telling me you were gonna really like her most of the time. And when you don't like her, I'm going to love her.

Uh.

So uh I just uh I appreciate both of you for your service to this committee, in particular your advocacy for worthy causes and quite frankly uh you both have just been terrific members of congress and your constituents could be and are extraordinarily proud of the service you've rendered to them and to the rest of the the country and certainly to this committee so just thank both of you very very much. Uh and thank you uh you know Chairman Adderhall this is a good bill and uh I wanna thank my friend uh ranking member Delora all the subcommittee members as well Uh again I'll add parenthetically, this is where we always start, we're never on the same side at the beginning, but my friend the ranking member and I, and I know the chairman of this subcommittee and the ranking member have come to deals before. Uh they've worked toward one another and I think uh both of you have set us up to do that again. We'll have our differences, we'll have our clashes, but I'm hopeful we can do uh, madam ranking member, what we did uh in the four years you were chair when I served on this committee, the four years I was. We started in different places every time, but we got to the same place every time. And um I think uh you you two managed to pull that off uh as well last year, and hopefully we can do that again. I'll start by saying that the significance of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill is something I know well. Having spent several years uh leading this subcommittee, have a deep appreciation for both the scope of this bill and the obligations that come with it. Uh, Chairman Annerholt has embraced that responsibility, crafting legislation that invests in critical priorities while ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. At its core, the FY twenty-seven bill is about investing in the well-being and potential of America. Uh, think about the people whose futures are shaped by the investments in this measure. The researcher searching for a breakthrough treatment, the student preparing for a career, the parent relying on a rural the worker learning a new trade. Their success strengthens our communities and ultimately our country. This legislation invests in the biomedical research that keeps America at the forefront of discovery and innovation. It strengthens public health preparedness and bio-defense capabilities, and it advances educational opportunities and high quality care for rural America. At the same time, it recognizes that we owe taxpayers more than good intentions. We owe them real results. That means focusing resources on programs that deliver measurable outcomes, eliminating duplication and restoring agencies to their core missions. It's why we advance merit-based opportunity, protect parental rights, uphold long-standing protections for unborn babies, and ensure that federal resources serve the American people rather than ideological agendas. This is a bill that balances investment with accountability. It recognizes that physical responsibility and national progress are not competing priorities, they are complementary ones. By supporting medical innovation, educational achievement, workforce readiness, and stronger communities, this measure comprehensively prepares our nation for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Again, I thank Chairman Ederholt and Ranking Member DeLora and the staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work. I look forward to consideration and advancement of today's measure. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Thank you uh, Mr. Chairman, and um and let me just add uh the my uh to the chorus about uh uh Congressman Hoyer and uh Congresswoman Bonnie Watts Coleman uh we do hate to see you leave. I mean, I have got to know both of these individuals in different capacities. Um Congressman Hoyer through um the um OSCE Helsinki Commission, we we've uh worked on that uh and were able to travel to Representing the United States and uh on and several times and then uh I've also um served uh as uh we s- both serve on the semi-quincentennial commission, Bonnie Watson Coleman. And I've worked together on some legislations, we celebrate the two hundred and fiftieth birthday of the United States of America. So uh both of these individuals will be missed and uh we uh wish them the best, but we hope we will see them often and they will be around and uh we look forward to uh the next chapter of their lives. Um, does uh any of the members uh wish to make opening remarks?

Me.

Yes, ma'am.

Actually, I w when I got up this morning, and it was a beautiful day, I was gonna come into the room and just be quiet and smile, I told that to Mrs. Malik. But then I read this budget, and I entirely I am mad as hell. I cannot believe what I see. This is a war on women and girls. Title ten, zeroed out, healthcare taken from almost three million people. This is our family planning money, and not only that, preventative care, cancer screening, diabetes, keeping people healthy, mostly people who are very poor or uninsured. But that wasn't enough. Zeroing out teen pregnancy prevention. Okay, let's see, I know you're against abortion. That's one thing. But forced pregnancy? That's another thing. And lastly, not lastly, I go to another page. Almost cutting in half the Office on Women's Health with an HHS. It's a war, this is a war. It's a war on women, and you know what, we're not gonna take it, and I just hope that My friend's on the other side of the aisle and I have many, I think. If you are a woman, or you love a woman, you have a daughter, you have a sister, a mother, a cousin, an aunt, let's keep them healthy. And I just really hope uh, Mister Chair, that we can really rethink these cuts and we'll work hard to help you do that, a young back.

Thank you for your comments.

Yeah, good.

Any other comments?

Hope you like it.

Um

Well, If you like my recording. I'll at some point I'll have a little bit of

You wanna do 'em. Yeah. Um before we we go to the amendment process, uh let me also uh uh I I also uh wanna recognize another member that is with us that is leaving. Um a well, we're not sure she's actually leaving, but Julia Letlow. Um she may be just moving um down the down the hallway. But um w- she uh she is um you know, I don't really think of you retiring because of of your youth and uh but uh I know you're in a just moving down the hallway so uh but we but Julia Letlow will be leaving us um after this term as well, and we appreciate her service not only to the Congress but also to this committee and uh as Vice-Chair of this uh of this subcommittee. So uh Julia,

Mm.

we wish you the best and and just remember when uh You get to uh the um if someone says that you're down the upper body, we'll just remind you it's the other body, not the upper body.

Yeah.

It's the dark side.

Yes.

Yeah.

So uh but uh we all we do appreciate your service uh uh Con Congresswoman Letlow and uh we uh like said you're you're a little bit different position because we we uh maybe s seen a lot of you. Uh so uh we look forward to continuing to work

Jim, would you recognize me to join you in that? Um, you know, there's only, uh, I sit on the steering committee and so you see, uh, on our side of the aisle, you see a lot of members that wanna come to committees. And a lot of them wanna come to this committee in particular, and that's always a privilege. But only two people in all the years, I've been on the steering committee over twenty years, ever came to me and said, I want to go on, uh, these are Republicans, it'll be a little different on your side of the aisle, uh, Madam Ranking Member, but, uh, I wanna go to a probe and is there any way I can get on labor H? And one of them was Letlow and the other was Molinar. They're saying right there to get I said,

Yeah.

you're kidding me, I said you're on, you're on, you have my vote. Uh, but too many of our members uh,

Very wise. Yeah.

you know, it's uh it's uh, you know, well, look, every every side uh, look, defense doesn't seem to be quite as high a priority on your side. So each every party has different committees, but uh, you've just done such a wonderful job. And unlike my friends, Mister Hoyer and Miss Watson Coleman, uh I know given where I know you're going, you are gonna miss us as much as we miss you.

Yeah.

You're gonna long for coming back here uh where we can actually get to a point and and uh and make the decisions. But uh no question, our loss is the Senate's gain, and uh we wish you well in that endeavor. I'm I'm sure you're gonna be successful. Uh you've done a stellar job on our side of the aisle to say the least, not to mention you have friends on both sides of the aisle and uh you have a natural talent for bringing people together and getting things done and uh uh they just you know as much as we need that here they need it even more in the Senate right now. So uh again I wish you well on that but thank you for all you've done here. You bet, you bet.

Thank you. Um any more opening comments anyone like to make as lawyer?

Well first of all, Mr. Chairman, I'm I'm very distressed that you were not surprised with my retirement and because of my age.

I'm wa was a little surprised.

I know the young Miss Letlow who is uh going to the, as uh the ranking members said, the dark side, uh the opposition as opposed to the enemy. Uh, your side is the opposition, we're the opposition to you, but That's, that's a whole nother story.

Oh, nice.

But, Chairman, I wanna thank the members of, of the staff. Uh, uh, we are blessed in the Congress of the United States with having some people who are willing to work very long hours at pay easily less than their talent and academic achievement and intellect would warrant in the private sector. Uh, I know that because almost everybody who ever leaves my staff makes more money immediately as they walk out the door.

Yes.

Uh, and so we're blessed to have them and the American people are blessed to have them. This uh uh the ranking member went through those names. Also appreciate uh, Mister Anaholt and I have worked together for a long period of time. He said a couple of trips, I'm sure it's probably more close to uh a double-digit number of trips that we took during our uh careers on the uh Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe's Helsinki Commission. And uh Bob Alderhold has been a extraordinarily strong voice uh for people around the world who were suffering from despotism and - and uh human rights deprivations, civil rights uh deprivations, argued for the Helsinki principles. And I've I've always been pleased to uh be with him on those trips. Um. I've been on this committee since January of nineteen eighty-three. I've obviously had twenty years uh leave of absence uh from the committee. Uh, but it was a committee I've I've I chose uh when I first got on the committee. Uh, I've never regretted that uh decision. I did it because um I have been a very strong supporter of education. My wife was an educator, uh my first wife, she died in nineteen ninety seven. Uh and she was an early childhood educator. Of kindergarten, first grade, and then she was the supervisor of early childhood education in our county. Our county, Prince George County, was a county of about eight hundred thousand, that's about a million. uh people, so a lot of elementary schools from kindergarten to third grade. And she started full service schools. So I'm gonna offer an amendment on that for her early childhood. Uh there are now a hundred and one Judy centers throughout the state of Maryland. And uh e- e- I where I go in the state people come up to me and say, you know, can we get a Judy center in our community? Uh so this has been a committee which has really been the central uh part of my consideration is what we wanted to do. I served under a gentleman named Bill Natcher. Uh he was the chairman when I came to the committee. He was an extraordinary individual. He averaged spending about seventy-five dollars per election cycle.

off about a bunch of numbers.

He came from uh the sixth district of K- uh uh Kentucky. Um he was a extraordinary man, very taciturn in many ways, uh but he articulated the central theme of what I think this committee stands for. Uh and he would every time we got up uh he would say, as long as we take care of the education of our children and the health of our people, we will continue to be the strongest and best nation on earth. I repeat that because I think this committee is very much the security and success of the United States. We look at the defense bill as uh the bill which maintains our security. But our long-term security is really s- sustained by uh the education of our children and the health health of our people. Uh in that context uh I'm disappointed with what's been happening with this bill over the last uh number of years. Because I served on this committee with a lot of number of Republican chairman and a lot of uh Democratic chairman. Uh I I've told people uh in my service on this committee there were thirteen of us, uh eight Democrats and five Republicans for the most part. And I tell people you could have taken the thirteen of us, thrown us up in the air, and ask had us come down uh in random seats and had a mark-up. And very frankly you would have had a hard time determining who was the Republican or who was the Democrat. Sylvie O'Connor was the first uh ranking member. I don't know that any of you serve have served served with Sylvie Conno. He rep- represented Western uh Massachusetts, the furthest west district. I'm not sure Richie Neal represents that district now, but uh in any event, he was a very strong supporter, and then some of you may have served with John Porter. Uh, John Porter uh was a very strong supporter and in fact had as an objective over five years to double the NIH budget because he believed that the uh uh the money you spend at NIH would would create a great savings uh in the healthcare system. I agreed with that and and most of the committee agreed with that, and we did d- in fact double it. Uh, in uh nominal terms, I don't think in really Real terms we didn't get to double, but the fact of the matter was, my point, is he believed in investment, in health and in education. This uh bill, uh I share the ranking members' view a- and and I sh- sh- share the view of the uh I'm sure Miss Coleman uh and and certainly Miss Feichel on the fact that we are disinvesting in too many areas. We're cutting three point seven billion dollars in the Department of Labor, four billion in in in HADR, and eight point one billion cut from the Department of Education. I think in many areas we are back to less than we uh were investing in twenty-three, in fiscal year twenty-three. U- Ultimately, that has a cost. It has a cost because For the most part, five year olds are in kindergarten once. Six year olds are in first grade once, for the most part, and repeatedly. Uh, our children have single experiences in one grade or another. And to the extent that we disinvest in any one of those years, our children are not doing as well as they need to do. for all of us, for our country. Uh and so I will be offering two amendments, both of which deal with investing in children uh a- and in full service schools. Uh full service schools were funded, I don't know and the staff can correct me on that, but I know last year at a hundred and fifty million, but I don't know how far that went back, I don't know essentially it's been On the line of each year. frozen. Does anybody know off top your head? It's a recession.

Um, so the last increase was fiscal year twenty-twenty-three.

Yes. So this uh in twenty twenty-three we had uh we're now doing fiscal year twenty-seven. Um we've frozen. But this year we zero funded. Zero funded. Those children aren't disappearing. uh the necessity to have full service. What does full service means? It means not just education, but it also means the other services that children need, they need health services. Uh, we build these schools for a lot of money. I know I've taken too much time, Mr. Chairman, I'm gonna stop pretty soon. We spend a lot of money on these children. You're not gonna miss me so much.

Huh.

Spend a lot of money on these schools. And too often the schools are used for one purpose, but they're really community places where health care, uh full services for parents can be provided, um so that children can be housed in safe uh places. My point is that this bill, as Natur said, uh is about the security of our country, the health of our children, the health of our families and the education of our children. So I'm gonna be offering two amendments. Why do I offer these amendments? probably because I'm crazy. Because uh we're not gonna adopt any amendment in this committee because we don't do that in subcommittees. And Mister Chairman, you know I feel that that's uh undermining the importance of subcommittees and the importance of those who the chairman and the ranking member have said frequently, we rely on the expertise of our subcommittees. I I don't agree with that proposition. And the reason I don't agree with it, because we do not discuss as a collective, not just Republican and Democrat, but as the committee members, we do not discuss the priorities of this bill. Because we come here, the bill is written, and we report it to the full committee. But we don't consider the bill. We don't mark it up. A mark it up means doing something, which the full committee does do, and we consider amendments. I think that's, frankly, Mister Chairman, uh under-utilizing the expertise that we oughta have. And lastly, let me say, uh, Mister Chairman, I appreciate the fact that you've had a number of hearings. But I will tell you, uh, and Doctor Harris, uh, y- y- I think hopefully you would be concerned about this as well. When I first served on the committee for a long period of time, we heard from every NIH director. It was an extraordinary educational experience for all of us. And we had the opportunity to question them as to if we don't invest another million dollars, what is the cost of that disinvestment from those directors? We don't do that. As a matter of fact, we had a relatively s- very short hearing with the director of NIH, who has a budget within in the neighborhood of forty billion dollars plus. Um, I think that is not doing our work in a way that is beneficial to the full committee, to the full Congress, uh and to the country. Uh because we don't have the knowledge that they can impart to us. And therefore uh, Mr. Chairman, I uh let me say I I appreciate the kind words of the Chairman, uh of yourself, uh of Mr. Loro. Uh but I would hope that all of you would think carefully in the years ahead as to what this subcommittee really ought to be doing and what Mr. Chairman, every subcommittee ought to be doing. in my own subcommittee where I'm the ranking member, uh we've had two hearings. We have had no hearings since I marked up the bill, and we marked up the bill without a three O two A, so we don't really know, three O two B, excuse me, we don't, didn't know at that point in time. And we don't know when we don't consider all the three O two B's at one period of time what committee needs what source, and does defense need so much that labor health gets less? Does labor get labor health get so much that defense doesn't get what it needs? If we don't have that full discussion, and we simply uh sporadically adopt three O two of these, I think it does not serve us well. I yield back the balance of my time and thank you.

Mm-hmm. Oh. Miss uh Mister Simpson.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a couple things to say. And I w- I will I will keep it within my time with it. But I steady knows how much I like him and how much we get along and stuff. And I really appreciate the history lessons. Uh, but I'm pretty sure that if we took all of us right now and threw us all up in the air and came down you wouldn't be able to tell which ones are Republicans or which ones are Democrats. Maybe it's different than it

The man has lost his.

May maybe it's different than it was in times gone by. I'm sure that's true. I wish we could get back to a time when we actually, the subcommittee actually did all day markups. Sometimes two days, when you actually got in and we discussed it, and the subcommittee became the advocate for the bill that came out of it. Now, I know that that's challenging. Uh, but it would be nice actually to get back to that at some point in time. Uh, but Chairman Adderhall, I wanna thank you for what you've done in this bill. Uh. we've heard the criticisms and, you know, no matter what you did in this bill there would be some criticisms from some corner. Uh, but you did uh work with me uh dealing with uh dental health being one of the few dentists in Congress, very important issue to me uh and I know that you've done some really good things in here and I wanna thank you and your staff for that. Working with me on the TRIO program, something that I think is supported by almost every member of this subcommittee, uh to make sure that TRIO continues at it was as it was originally intended. And uh I know that you've been uh working with that and meeting with me, and your staff's done a great job on that, and I appreciate the work that uh you've done in that, in that arena. This is, you know, this is a complicated bill to write. It's never perfect. Even when Chairman Cole wrote it, it was never perfect, but it was a pretty damn good bill.

Mm.

And you have maybe the biggest task uh of anybody trying to follow up uh Chairman Cole and uh ranking member Deloro as chairman of this committee. Was it Bill, Bill and I wrote it? They they it's a perfect bill when you wrote it, I know. Uh but uh they worked together marvelously trying to get together uh a bill, and they did it every year that they were that they were chairman and ranking member and I know that you're working on that same goal and you were able to come up with a bill last year that uh could be agreed upon and I know will end up that way this year too so uh I think the you and the staff have done a wonderful job on this bill trying to trying to address the issues of uh member that issues of concern of members of the subcommittee so thank you for all the work but particularly thank the staff for all the work on this.

Yep. Thank you, Chairman Simpson. Oh, is uh uh f- anyone have an amendment?

I have one of them.

Huh?

Oh, there is amendment. Uh, uh, we ha do we have an amendment?

We do.

Okay. Uh, there's amendment to this. Uh, the clerk will read the amendment.

On page one thirty nine, comma line five, after the dollar amount insert increased by a hundred and fifty million in the report, on page two sixty seven, strike the paragraph following the header full service community schools and insert the following the committee recommends a hundred and fifty million for full service community schools which is equal to the fiscal year twenty twenty six, enacted level.

Yeah.

This program makes competitive grants to support school-based comprehensive services for students families and communities such as mental health and nutrition services.

Uh w- uh the gentleman uh is recognized for five minutes.

Well, it won't take five minutes because uh That that came from your side, not ours. No, Mister Harder.

It was harder.

No, Mister Harder, I am gonna be here for another six months.

Oh my God.

Just saying. Nobody's listening. And I say that respectfully. As you see in in the full committee arm, we don't pay attention to one another. Because it's foreordained that this amendment, no matter the merits of this amendment, we'll lose. We'll vote on long party lines on our side and your side. Um but this particular provision has been one that I think almost every chairman has been a real supporter of. And I know Rosa DeLauro and I have worked very very hard on this particular issue and we have been pretty successful consistently. Why? Because this is about children who are struggling. Lois Frankel talked about women. I can't hear what you're These are about the b- the - the neediest kids. This is about kids who were either going to invest in at the early part of their life or gonna invest a lot in the later part of their life. Frederick Douglass, uh who grew up in Doctor Harris's district, uh a slave and then became one of America's great leaders, said it is easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken men. Ted Agnew said it a different way. Uh he he and I went to the Maryland government at the same time, in nineteen sixty six. He said the cost of failure far exceeds the price of progress. Well known to what he meant by that. If we do not invest in our children early, particularly our neediest children, our most economically deprived children are children who grow up in really tough circumstances. If we don't invest in them now, we're gonna invest in them later. We're gonna put them in prison, gonna have deep mental health problems. They're not gonna be taxpayers, they're gonna be tax takers. I know I said I'd only take five minutes harder.

Yeah. Yeah.

So I offer this amendment. Uh, it's not an increase. It keeps us even of what we're investing around the country in the toughest challenges we have in education. I'm not even gonna ask for a vote.

Mm.

That'll save a little bit of time. But it will not save the children. I yield back.

Thank you. Mr. Hoyer, uh does any other member seek recognition on the amendment? If no for the debate, um the um

I withdraw the amendment.

Okay, the w the um uh amendment is withdrawn. Okay. And uh is there any other amendments?

I have a second amendment, uh which also

Gentleman's recognized for five minutes. Or is there's amendment at the desk? Okay, the the clerk will report the amendment.

Hey, we have a little thing on the phone where you can,

Yeah, I do.

okay.

On page eighty seven, line sixteen, after the dollar amount, insert, in increased by three hundred and fifteen million. On page two of three,

No, no, no, no.

strike the paragraph following the header, preschool development grants, and insert the following. The committee recommends three hundred and fifteen million for preschool development grants which is equal.

This makes a total of uh four hundred and sixty-five million dollars that we're cutting out of this budget, which go directly to the children that I just talked about. I think that's uh a bad disinvestment for our country and for what Natchez talked about, uh the security of our country by making sure that our children and our families' health and education is addressed. Um, I'm not gonna ask for a vote on this one either because I know the result would be foreordained and we will say, well, that exceeds our four O two B. Considering our four O two B or three O two B ought to be a major consideration. From the top number, and we h have a hard time reaching the top number because we can't pass budgets on either side of the aisle. You didn't pass budgets sometimes, you don't pass budgets uh because getting to that number is hard. But if you don't deal with that number at the beginning and determine whether or not priorities are gonna be met in committee A or subcommittee B or C or D, you're really flying blind. And I think that's what we're doing. And I would hope w- we would, you would all work. I won't be here. You won't have to hear me uh uh go on in drones about this. It's a different kind of droning. Uh, but uh I think for the sake of the committee and the country, all of you who are going to remain here ought to focus on this. I yield back and withdraw the amendment.

Oh thank you, thank you, Mister Warrior, and um any other, uh one like to speak on the amendment?

Okay,

Oh.

Mister Chairman, I wanna speak on the amendments Mister Hoyer has covered it. I just wanna, I wanna say thank you to him for his uh deep commitment and uh uh to what happens in the lives of children in this country and that this committee is the vehicle through which we can help to make a difference. in the lives of children. So I thank you for that, Mister Hoyer.

All. Any other amendments? Seeing no further amendments then I'll recognize Mister Simpson for the purpose of making a motion.

Mister Chairman, I move that the bill be favorably reported to the full committee.

The question is on the motion. Those in favor say aye.

Aye. Aye.

Those opposed no.

No.

The ayes have it. Uh the motion is agreed to. Um Uh, ranking a recorded vote has been requested uh, and those in favor of recorded vote, raise your hands. Uh, sufficient number of support. Uh, a uh recorded vote is ordered. The clerk will call the roll.

Mister Adderhall.

Aye.

Mister Siskamani. Mister Clyde.

Aye.

Mister Kohl.

Aye.

Mister Loro.

No.

Mister Edwards. Mister Fleischman.

Aye.

Miss Frankel.

No.

Mister Harder.

No.

Doctor Harris.

Aye.

Mister Hoyer.

No.

Mister Molinar.

Aye.

Mister Pocan.

No.

Mister Simpson.

Aye.

Miss Watson-Coleman.

No.

Mister Elzey.

Aye.

Miss Spice. Aye. I think that was a call for the executive. Oh. Can I? Oh, Mister Moore. Aye. Miss Deen? I think I should Miss Deen. Miss Letlow? Miss Letlow. Aye. So,

Does any member wish to record their vote or

can I just go through the voting process?

change their vote?

Okay, okay, sorry.

One two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve. Five six seven eight nine ten eleven. One two three four five six seven eleven. One two three four five six seven eleven. One two three four five six seven eleven. Eleven is fine. One two three four five six seven eleven.

I believe this is the way it should be. Okay. So, do you need to go? Yeah.

Okay, on this uh vote the ayes are eleven, the noes are seven, the amendment is not adopted. Uh, the um

There you go.

No, this will put motion on the motion.

The motion.

Uh, the motion. I'm reading from the wrong page, so.

Even I even uh even when I would draw it, it's just a piece of paper. It's Tougher than I thought.

The bill is the bill is now favorably reported uh to to the full committee. As you now have consent, the staff be permitted to make technical and conforming changes to the bill. Uh, end of the report without objection so ordered. Um, and of course copies of the bill are uh at your table. And uh thank you very much for everyone for being here this morning, and especially bright and early eight o'clock on a uh Friday morning. And at that, the committee stands adjourned.

Thank you.

The subcommittee on homeland security will come to order. Welcome to the subcommittee mark-up for fiscal year twenty twenty seven, homeland security Yeah, you can't do it, can you? I would like to welcome the full committee chairman, Mister Cole, and ranking member DeLores, um and all the subcommittee members. Uh, you should all know that uh i it's it's no secret that that Labor Eight was in here before us, and as they were clearing out, for those of you that were here for the Labor Eight's thing, and Mister Cole and Mister DeLore, I wanna thank you for sticking around for the varsity event this morning in terms of h of uh subcommittee mark-ups. Um, I will be there's a junior vet junior varsity person leaving right now. I will hold my comments uh until the end uh so we'll begin by recognizing the distinguished gentleman from Texas, Mister Cuire for his opening remarks, the floor is yours.

Uh, Mister Chairman, thank you so much and I'm pleased to join you today as we mark up your final uh homeland security appropriations. We really appreciate uh your uh your work that you've done and appreciate uh our friendship so uh the process of working with you and your team in drafting this important bill has been a good one consistent with the traditions of the uh subcommittee so I thank you for the dialogue the conversations we've had uh and with your team willingness to work with us on items that are important uh for the

Mm-hmm.

American people it is an interesting position we are in as we sit here considering F five twenty seven budget for DHS while our work on FY twenty twenty six still remains incomplete. I appreciate many of the new provisions included in this bill that reflect some of the common sense reforms we have been advocating for, and wonder if resolution of FY twenty twenty six and reclaiming our full power of our of the purse is possible without the need for more reconciliation funding that bypasses our our committee with the twenty fifth anniversary of terrorist attacks of nine eleven and twenty six we have to make sure that we have a better approaching later this year, I'm reminded that it is this subcommittee's responsibility to provide DHS the resources necessary to carry out the missions critical to our nation's in economic um uh security and to protect the health and the safety in doing so. But it's also equally our responsibility to hold them accountable, both uh in their day-to-day operations and interactions with the public, as well as how they execute the federal funding they're trusted with. It is why our subcommittee exists. This must always be at the forefront of our deliberations when deciding how to best uh fund DHS. As a board member I understand and support the investments in border security and technology, employee care, suicide prevention programs for our border patrol agents and the other homeland security folks, but I'm concerned that this bill does not provide sufficient oversight of the department or certain operational reforms that we've been uh talking about. For example, while the bill doubles the funding for body-worn cameras, there's nothing this bill requiring it's used during immigration enforcement operations, or ensure that the video is retained. This bill also uh cuts the OIG and and I had time to spend time uh with them, uh by twelve percent and stripped oversight we had agreed to last year for detention facility oversight when detention capacity for ICE is growing and deaths and ice casualties are re are are record levels. When it comes to the border itself, I do wanna express my appreciation for a provision that will protect some of the areas we previously agreed to uh that were exempted from border wall construction, that's SpaceX uh and I had a conversation with SpaceX a couple of nights ago, uh the Butterfly Center, the uh the historical uh cemeteries, the chapel and other places, and I thank you for putting the oversight uh uh on the uh reconciliation but unfortunately uh we gotta look at some of the uh areas I know that uh my uh colleague from uh El Paso is looking at some exceptions uh I'm looking at some border exceptions uh in my hometown it's like having your own house uh a yard and then somebody just puts a fence in front of your yard but we look forward uh to working together this is only the storing process and I appreciate uh your opportunity uh to work on this. Uh this bill also misses the opportunities to make smart investments and parts of the department have not seen funding from reconciliation sources. I would like to s- uh see more uh increased funding for TSA and protect their workers, collect their bargaining as well as larger investments in CIS to protect uh cyber and critical infrastructure. Uh and again, you know, we we have other things that we need to talk about but I do wanna say uh that I wanna thank uh take this moment and thank and give my deep appreciation to all the department's personnel for the work that they do. I live on the border so I know Border Patrol agents, ICE agents, uh HSI, all those folks all fo all that and I go to church with them, I I see the the folks at the uh grocery stores, they're good people, they're good people and and again I wanna thank all of them. And Mister Chairman I just wanna say you have been a class act uh Part of the A team, uh varsity team that you were talking about, I'm just kidding. But I I do wanna say thank you so much to you and the team and to all the members, I really appreciate uh the work that you all have done. It's only the starting process, so let's get this process started. Thank you.

Thank you, sir, and your credibility was running pretty high till that stuff at the end. Um, I'd now like to recognize the Chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Oklahoma, the floor is yours.

I thank my uh very good friend, the Chairman, and I'd like to Again, thank uh you, Chairman Amadei. Thank you, ranking member Cuellar. Certainly my good friend and working partner, the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Laura. And all of you for being here. I'm actually pretty impressed with the turnout for Friday morning with no votes. I mean, uh when I was a more junior member, I might well have not been here. So uh I commend all of you for being here. I really do, and I appreciate it very, very much. Uh, keeping America safe and secure is a fundamental duty. And the measure we're considering is critical to that mission. Uh, and I wanna associate myself actually, sort of going off script here, with a comment that, uh, Ranking Member Cuellar made. Um, this is a process and, uh, you know, we're not in agreement today, but the aim is to work toward doing it. And both of you did that last year, and I was extraordinarily proud. I think this subcommittee had the most difficult challenges of any of them. And those persist to this day, and uh I'm gonna be very candid in my remarks about the Senate on this. Uh but the point is you got to a deal. Uh and that deal got across the floor. And uh I appreciate that and I appreciate what it took for both of you, cuz I think you were each under extraordinary pressure to get it done, and you're here to be, both of you commended. Um, keeping Americans safe and secure is a fundamental duty and the measure we are considering is critical to that mission. Those aren't words, they're facts. Everyone in this room understand the stakes and the consequences of not acting. Uh, you have to look no further than the Senate, uh, Democrat DHS shutdown, which is exactly what it is, to understand what I mean. Despite bipartisan efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security, through regular appropriations process, Senate Democrats refused to advance a bill that would provide certainty uh for the men and women charged with securing our nation. And by the way, a uh a bill that they had agreed to in negotiations, that they had agreed to. Uh, it was a completely avoidable disruption and one where the ramifications are still being felt. Uh, I said it then and I'll say it again, and I certainly uh uh associate myself with Mister Cuellar in this regard. Uh, you know, I appreciate people that actually uh recognize how tough the being on the border is. and how much we owe those folks. And to see a situation where we were going from thousands of people a day, uh, coming across the border illegally, some in pursuit of opportunity, some in pursuit of criminal activity. Uh, to see that go to where we have no known illegal entries for months, uh, into this country is an extraordinary achievement. And the men and women who did it ought to be thanked for it and commended for it. uh not uh constantly smeared. I see a lot of politicians you know trying to make a political point at the expense of federal workers seventy five percent of whom in the border patrol are are veterans and or professional law enforcement and if we've got a couple of bad actors, they do something wrong, we ought to be relentless in the pursuit of them. But to take an entire group and see them sometimes compared to the Gestapo uh I mean it's shameless, it is shameless and uh my friend Uh, Mr. Cuellar has certainly never, ever done that. Uh, but uh, you know, and frankly to my knowledge nobody in this room has done that. But I've seen it done repeatedly and it's not acceptable. Um, at its core, appropriations is about fulfilling Congress's constitutional responsibility. Article one's not optional and it's certainly not something members should put aside when it becomes politically inconvenient. The power of the purse carries with it an obligation to govern. And this fiscal year, two thousand twenty-seven bill reflects that responsibility. This legislation funds every core mission of DHS. It strengthens border security, it supports immigration enforcement, and combats fentanyl and other illicit drugs. It reinforces the Trump administration's efforts that have helped restore operational control of the border for the first time in years, while ensuring the personnel, technology, and resources are in place to sustain that success. This includes funding uh to sustain twenty-two thousand Border Patrol agents and support for needed ice detention beds, and it doubles the resources for body-worn cameras for DHS personnel that we provided last year. Additionally, the bill enhances America's posture in the Indo-Pacific by providing increased resources for the Coast Guard operations to counter China and other adversaries. Investments in maritime domain awareness unmanned systems, technology, modernization, and an expanded Coast Guard presence in the region help safeguard critical waterways support allies and partners in advance U S national security. The measures also bolstered our cyber defenses by refocusing resources on protecting federal networks and critical infrastructure from increasingly sophisticated threats posed by nation-state adversaries and criminals. Finally, the bill ensures states and local communities have the resources they need to prepare for respond to and recover from disasters from firefighters and first responders to emergency managers on the ground these investments help communities remain resilient and uh when disaster strikes. Importantly, the measure also recognizes that homeland security is not limited to one challenge or one border. It encompasses everything from fiscal, security and immigration enforcement to cyber defense, disaster response, and protecting the American people from emerging threats at home and abroad. I'd be remiss not to recognize Chairman Amaday. Mark has always uh respected this institution and understood that governing requires showing up, doing the work, and making tough decisions. He brings a practical perspective to every challenge, a willingness to say exactly what he thinks, uh, and a commitment to ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly. As chairman of this subcommittee, he's navigated some extraordinarily difficult challenges with steady judgment, candor, and clear focus on results. Through it all, he's never lost sight of our mission or our responsibility to provide the resources necessary to keep America safe. As the final appropriations bill, uh, i- you know, he will lead in Congress, these measures are fitting culmination to mark service. It reflects the way my friend has always approached public service, respecting the institution, embracing the responsibility, and never shying away from tough decisions. Congress, this committee, and the appropriations process are stronger, Mister Chairman, because of your leadership. I wanna thank you,

Mm.

uh, your working partner, Ranking Member, Quayar, and the subcommittee staff on both sides of the aisle for hard work And I look forward to advancing this measure. And with that, I yield back.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The gentlelady from uh Connecticut, uh the ranking member of the full committee, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I too am so appreciative of the w- your work and work of ranking member Quayar in uh uh getting this bill to where it is. There obviously are serious differences with the bill, uh which we will uh address. and look forward to the opportunity to work together to uh make make changes in the bill. And I wanna say a thank you to Chairman Cole uh and I've I've I concur that the uh bills no- don't start out the way we would like them and we try to get to the to the end game. Uh I would wish sometimes we would not repeat the same things that we did last year moving forward and we could do it in in a uh a a uh more deliberative and um faster way uh since we know some of these things will fall by the wayside. It may be good that they fall by the wayside now so that we can uh move the work of the uh work of the committee. I wanna say a thank you to the subcommittee uh staff. Um I say that particularly of homeland security, it's been uh difficult. We were able to pass eleven of the twelve bills, homeland still has its difficulties but to the staff on both sides of the aisle. Uh, we commend you uh for the uh your dedication and commitment uh to the to homeland security. Uh, Shannon McCulley, Jamie Wise, Jim Ellsworth for the minority, Paula Anstein, Anna Lanier-Fisher, Fern Gibbons, Ashley Truluck, Alessandra Ramirez, and Nkosi Thomas uh for the majority. Again, thank you for your great work. I am opposed to the bill. under consideration today. From the beginning, we have maintained that we will not provide another penny in funding for ICE or the Border Patrol without substantial reforms to the way those agencies operate, reforms that protect our constituents and our communities from the kind of reckless and senseless abuses we have seen. I just might add here that Democrats believe in border control and in secure borders. We are there, but we are also um uh committed to making sure that the results of those actions of border control do not result in American citizens dying in our streets. Um, this bill provides more than ten billion dollars for ICE and nearly seven billion dollars for Border Patrol. While I welcome incremental measures, uh the majority has included in the bill which make progress towards the reform as necessary to protect our communities, they still fall far short of what is required to earn our support. These agencies have broken the law. In January alone, ICE violated nearly one hundred court orders, which the chief federal judge in Minnesota, a Republican appointee, estimated was more than some federal agencies have violated during their entire existence. Just this week, Secretary Mullen testified that he is under no obligation to follow court orders he simply doesn't agree with. That the head of the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country would show such flagrant disregard for the American legal system should offend anyone who respects the rule of law. The majority of Americans support strong protections from ICE abuses. And yes, we will not agree to another penny until those conditions are met, until we can be sure that the people we represent are safe. Agents must get a warrant from a judge before kicking in someone's door. They must m- remove their masks and display identification. We must prohibit arbor- operations at schools, at hospitals, and at houses of worship. We must end racial profiling and allow for independent investigations into misconduct. That is how we keep our community safe and how we protect the rights of all Americans. That is how we regain the trust of the American people that this administration has lost. During the recent funding lapse, many of my Republican colleagues invoked the Transportation Security Administration and Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security agency,

Yeah.

claiming that a failure to fully fund these agencies was so egregious that we had to give ICE and Border Patrol billions of dollars with no strings attached to avoid it. And now Republicans have had that chance to write their own bill from scratch. And what they do, what do they do? They cut the budgets of CISA and the TSA. They cut funding from TSA by nearly three hundred and fifty million dollars and from CISA by more than two hundred and fifty million dollars. These agencies and the people who keep us safe every day used to be so important to our colleagues. What happened? And as we speak, the Senate Republican leadership circumvented this committee and gave the Trump administration another sixty-nine point five billion dollars, with no strings attached. There is no accountability and there is no oversight in the measure, and if the measure passes the house next week without any of the precautions, we will have provided DHS with more than two hundred and sixty billion dollars that this committee did not approve. I will always stand up for the appropriations process. I believe firmly, and I know Chairman Cole shares that belief, that partisan reconciliation bills are no substitute for the work that we do here. And again, if it passes in the House next week, it will circumvent what this committee is all about and in my view violates that power of the purse that is granted to the Appropriations Committee in the United States Constitution. But you have to see the absurdity in refusing to include substantive guardrails against ICE and Border Patrol while also giving them nearly seventeen billion dollars on top of what they are already set to receive in reconciliation while cutting funding for cyber security, for the TSA and the internal watchdogs who prevent abuse within the department. The reforms we seek for these agencies are not unreasonable, nor are they impractical. They are popular. They are and they are n- necessary to ensure the safety of our constituents. I encourage my colleagues to work with us to adopt all of these guardrails and protect our communities and to protect the power of the purse that is enshrined in the United States Constitution for this committee. Until then, I urge a strong no vote on this legislation. Thank you and I yield back.

Thank you, Madam Ranking Member. Other members of the committee wishing to make opening statements? The lady from Texas, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, and thank you to the Ranking Member and to our leaders of the Appropriations Committee. It it really is a privilege to be part of this committee and to be able to to work together to do everything we can to ensure we have um the tools but also guardrails necessary as the appropriations ranking member mentioned. Mister Amadei, you've been such a great chairman to work with, I'm sorry we're gonna lose you um and uh have always appreciated your willingness to hear me out and to work collaboratively and ranking member, fellow border Texan. Um, we know firsthand the the what what is happening every day on the border. I I just wanna echo, I would be remiss if I didn't echo what Ms. Delaro said to us about the guardrails that are necessary for such a large significant department. And I wanna share a couple of stories with you all, my my colleagues on homeland. The largest detention facility in the world is in my district. It's called Camp East Montana. It was funded through reconciliation. It's a one point two billion dollar tent city. My team and I have tried to conduct oversight multiple times. Thankfully I've I've gotten in several times, but it's always hit or miss, and the rules are shifting, the rules will change. Recently one of my staff members was targeted by um some of the folks there on the ground and doxed and I've raised all of this to the new uh secretary. We had a great meeting with him yesterday and I am hopeful that there will be a very different relationship between the new and Congress. But we still have a job to do. And I wanna give you a couple of examples of where a lack of oversight and a lack of guardrails should really outrage and alarm us. One case, a group of women who had been detained during the Minneapolis chaos brought to El Paso And we met with them. They had been in custody at Camp East Montana for twenty-one days, without a change of clothes, without access to a phone to call their lawyers. They were desperate. Um, some of these women were nurses. Some had been in the country for decades. Um, and they felt incr- like, incredibly hopeless. There was one woman who was HIV positive who did not have access to her medication for twenty-one days. I'll give you another example. A a man that we met with a couple months ago, and as I was visiting with him, he had a brace on his arm and he kept rubbing his arm. And I asked him, " Are you okay?" And he said, " No, my arm was broken by an ICE agent when he arrested me." "This was weeks ago. I've been begging for medical care." Do you wanna see my arm? I said, yes, I'd like to see your arm. He took off his brace. You could see the break in his forearm. His arm had not been set. He had not been allowed to see a doctor. He was given aspirin. And he said at this point, I just wanna be deported, so I can check myself into an emergency room wherever they deport me.

Mm.

This is why oversight is important. This is why standards are important. Believe me, Henry and I live on the border. I, I um worked with the community with El Paso when we were seeing up to ten thousand people a day. That was not acceptable. And we need reform. And, and we need um to ensure that never happens again, which is why I've co-authored the dignity act with uh your colleague, Maria Salazar, for those of you who want to see real reform. But until we pass immigration reform, we have to hold our government accountable. And it's this committee that has the power to do that. And these are just two stories. I, we have so many. We are better than this, and the Appropriations Committee really can create a standard that we can be proud of, where we can be safe and we can be humane. So I seek to do that with all of you. Thank you, Mister Chairman, thank you, Ranking Member, I yield back.

Other members' opening statements. Seeing none, um before I go to uh uh Mister Rutherford, I I'm gonna go ahead and and and make mine at this point in time and uh First of all, th this will this'll see if anybody's listening. I'm actually looking forward to next week. And you say, what the heck's the matter with that guy? Um and a and it's like it has not been a great year to be serving in this in this role. Uh but I'll just say that. Regardless of what your politics are and you know, everybody's had something to say, but not everybody has said everything they're thinking. On both sides.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's true.

That's the mark of professionals.

Yeah, it is.

Because God knows there's plenty that could have been said.

Yeah, it's true. Yep.

And so, having said that, you're going, what, that's kinda weird, what's, why is he saying this? And uh I'm saying it because as as the Chairman alluded to, he was proud of the work that this committee did last year. Nobody got everything they wanted, uh we got shoved around by by by folks that, you you know whatever, it's like no, well we're okay with this, no you can't do that, you can't do that. I was proud of the collaborative process. I mean there, it was still political, and we still agreed to disagree on plenty, but everybody was a pro. And and and no offense to any of the other members that that don't serve on on this committee or on appropriations, but I think that's not your standard fare i in the culture these days. And so now as as we approach next week for this committee, it's like, oh well it's got easier, you know. I mean it's easier to be on homeland. Um it's all bear and horseshoe pitching. Um and that sort of thing. And and uh uh I think it's gonna be g good to have the discussions that we're gonna have in the context of article one and being appropriators. And the bill is gonna change from what it is now

Mm-hmm.

to to what we report out. Now it still may end up being the same roll call votes, but the bill is gonna change. And if I'm wrong it's like well you don't know anything about your committee and and and whatever the heck. But I I just wanna say this to the staffs and and and all that, i i it's like My impression of the work that the people in this jurisdictional area have done as members and staff is pretty pretty doggone strong. a and and you're not all being called to talk on your favorite morning or evening show or whatever and and it's all a but but it's like listen that that old Ben Franklin thing well done is better than well said thank you for being well done people. Um you don't owe me anything for for saying that but thank you for being well done people.

Mm-hmm.

Um and I also have one housekeeping thing that I need to do because uh We have a new member on the committee, Mister Shree from Indiana, who's sitting down there in the end thinking, everybody's going who's that guy and what's the heck, and I'm flying under the radar. I w I w I first of all wanna welcome you to to the toughest committee i in a p subcommittee on appropriations. And second, um we're not big on ceremony around here, I just wanna let you know if there are any second degree amendments that we in the majority decide to do on next week's mark-up, you're gonna be carrying them all by yourself. Welcome to the committee, big guy.

Thank you.

Okay. Yeah, h how's that for Jesus?

Good.

They're really uh they're really formal folks folks down there. Um, and so with that I would call on

Me Before you, ma ma I I forgot to say something. Would you uh chairman uh recognize me to make a quick remark?

Chairman is recognized.

Alright, thank you very much. I forgot to mention our friend Miss Henson who this is her last mark

Ah.

Uh, here.

uh Yeah, yeah, of course. Uh earlier today was Miss Letlow who was in the previous committee. Unlike most members, you know, you always tell them, well, we're gonna miss you more than you miss us. Actually, you really are gonna miss us. Because if you get to where I think you're gonna gonna go, That's uh You're gonna land in the middle of a lot of problems where I honestly I think the filibuster's been much misused over there to thwart the progress specifically of this committee and frankly earlier in the healthcare stuff and uh it just Amazing. But I wish you well. You have been a joy to work with uh on our side of the aisle. And uh I I frankly I think across the aisle you are a real credit to to your state and your district and this institution. And uh I you have a brilliant future in front of you. I'm sorry it ended as quickly as it did here. I thought when Grassley decided to run for re-election we got her for six more years. Uh but uh you know uh uh Senator Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I I guess before I make my final administrative announcement, is there any members who who wanna submit amendments at this time? Okay, seeing none, final administrative announcement is this, um, we are formally up for purposes of providing lunch et cetera next Wednesday. And that's an important thing, you know, it's just like troops in the field or whatever, it's like what's for what's to eat.

Mm-hmm.

And so um Uh, I know that everybody has their own spin on that sort of stuff, and healthy, and all that other sort of stuff. Oh my goodness. I can assure, I can assure those of you that are looking for healthy choices next Wednesday at noon, you should pack a lunch. We we are gonna break, we are gonna break with responsibility and maturity and stuff like that. Um, and uh, that's all I'm gonna say.

Well, c can't sense your

Talking forward, got a lot of

Talking about food, can I mention something?

No, but thank you for asking.

Yeah, but I will, but I will. Uh, since we're starting Homeland on Tuesday after labor age, on Tuesday we will have uh food from my district, we got a Mexican restaurant that will come in, it's not uh, palenque grill, the same one we bring in, I've tried a different one, it is not Taco Bell. Uh, so um

That's the next day.

That that, no, on Tuesday, you're on Wednesday and you're on Tuesday,

Yeah, on Tuesday.

yeah, we're on Tuesday, so uh for Tuesday since we're starting the homeland, we'll provide uh we'll bring in the cooks from uh South Texas up here, so. Yeah.

That would be great, and and after seeing the previous uh subcommittee meeting which will, which we'll have to wrap up in order for Mister Quayar to put on his his uh culinary extravaganza, um We know that those folks are not gonna uh, you know, do anything wild and out on the edge in terms of of culinary adventures, so

I offered,

um

but uh I you know, otherwise it would have been our way.

It's b it's been a tough year all around, hasn't it? Mister Rutherford, you are uh are recognized for the purposes of making a motion.

Mr Chairman, I move that there'll be favorably reported uh four committee

The question is on the motion uh from Mister Rutherford. Those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye. Those opposed, no.

No. No.

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The motion is agreed to. Um, seeing no other business uh to come before the committee today, uh the subcommittee on Homeland Security will stand adjourned.

Alright.