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Washington, DC—June 24, 2021....Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG), spoke about the broken budget and appropriations process of Congress and the FSGG’s unworkable topline spending number during today’s markup. Click here to watch the video in full. A transcript of his remarks can also be found below.

Watch Congressman Womack’s markup remarks here.

Transcript of remarks:

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is my first Financial Services markup as the Ranking Member.

“I'd like to personally thank my friend Kay Granger for giving me this opportunity. I hope I don't disappoint her.

“I'd also like to thank Chairman Quigley for his friendship and approach to the subcommittee's work and for getting us to this point. Not lost on me is the fact that the last time I was in this room, it was in the fall of 2018, and the Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform was having its final vote.

“It saddens me to know that on that day we were just a few votes short of implementing some changes to the budget and appropriations process that I think would have really done America a big favor.

“And we're about 100 days away from the beginning of a brand-new fiscal year, and yet this is the first subcommittee markup in the process.

“We must do better than this. I'm grateful to the Chairman that he's included many priorities for Republican members and addressed several bipartisan priorities, such as helping small business, combating cybercrime, and supporting anti-drug programs such as the Drug Free Communities and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program that he mentioned.

“Unfortunately, as currently drafted, the bill’s uncontrolled baseline spending is not justified and ignores our unsustainable fiscal trajectory. It also includes several controversial policy changes that I can't support. I was hoping that in Fiscal Year 22 we could start to limit federal spending as the cost associated with the pandemic waned.

“Instead, this bill proposes a 20% increase in discretionary spending over Fiscal Year 21. Numerous agencies funded in the bill received double digit percentage increases over last year, including a 39% increase for the White House offices appropriation and a 14% increase for OMB.

“While I believe the IRS could use some additional resources, the bill provides them with nearly $1.7 billion, or 14% more.

“It wasn't too long ago that the IRS was targeting groups based on political beliefs and wasting taxpayer money on lavish conferences, inappropriate videos, and employee bonuses.

“While much of the federal workforce has been teleworking for more than a year, the bill provides a $1.4 billion increase to GSA, most of which is for federal buildings and vehicles. I was hoping the lessons learned during the Pandemic could lead to savings in office space and travel expenses—not more spending. I will assure you that the private sector has learned its lesson.

“We're also seeing inflation and historically high debt ushered in by the Administration's excessive spending.

“I'm greatly concerned these realities will hinder the recovery and burden future generations of Americans.

“There are also several controversial policy changes included in the bill, such as allowing DC tax dollars to fund abortions and removing the prohibition on federal employee health benefits funding for abortions.

“While I have many concerns with the bill at this stage in the process, I remain hopeful that at some point in the near future, we'll be able to reach a bipartisan and bicameral agreement on spending and eliminate controversial policy changes. I'm confident, that as the process moves forward, we can continue working together to find bipartisan agreement on the items that matter most.

“Mr. Chairman, with that, I thank you again for your work and for your cooperation.

“I yield back my time.”

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

womack.house.gov

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