Republicans Object To Bills On Final Day Of Appropriations Committee Markups

WASHINGTON - Today, the full committee met to consider the fiscal year 2022 appropriations bills for the subcommittees on Energy and Water Development and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. The committee also considered technical changes to the subcommittee allocations, known as 302(b)s. Committee Republicans did not support reporting out these measures due to the total spending level and controversial policy provisions that are in the bills.

Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX), the lead Republican on the Appropriations Committee, said of the measures, 'Republican Members have offered sensible amendments to each of the twelve appropriations bills we've considered in the committee over the last few weeks, only to have the majority of them rejected by our colleagues across the aisle. It is disappointing that a process that impacts every aspect of American life has become politicized.

'While today marks the end of our Committee markup process, the fight has only just begun. As these bills move to the House floor, Republicans will continue to advocate against controversial policies and proposed spending levels that short-change our national defense and irresponsibly provide huge increases to domestic spending.'

In an effort to push back on the Democrats' partisan proposals, Republicans offered several amendments during both markups. Unfortunately, none of these amendments were adopted.

Republican Amendments to the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill:

• Provide increased funding for water infrastructure programs by reinvesting previously appropriated but still unused program funds and extend authorizations for these projects by one year; and
• Prohibit Department of Energy funds to entities owned by the Chinese Communist Party.

Republican Amendments to the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill:

• Prevent funds from being provided for the failed California High-Speed Rail project; and
• Prohibit new tolling on federally-funded highways and bridges in Pennsylvania.

Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Simpson (R-ID) said of the Energy and Water Development bill, 'While there are many items in this bill that I strongly support, unfortunately, they are within an overall framework that House Republicans cannot support. Like the President's budget request, the majority's Energy and Water bill overfunds certain non-defense programs and shortchanges our national security needs. The bill also embraces the policy priorities that focus on reducing U.S. emissions in a way that almost certainly would result in an increase in global emissions, and therefore not reduce the impact of climate change.'

Subcommittee Ranking Member Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) said of the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development bill, 'Now more than ever, we must use our role as appropriators to make decisions that are fiscally responsible. As our national debt exceeds $28 trillion, I am concerned about the $9 billion top line increase in this bill- a 13% surge from last year. These increases would need to be sustained in future years, threatening the already-growing inflation and national debt. For these reasons, I could not vote for this bill in its current form. This committee is at its best when we work together to make hard choices under budget caps set by bipartisan agreements. I urge my colleagues in the majority to move towards a bipartisan approach to avoid unnecessary standstills and wasteful, counter-productive short-term continuing resolutions. I am hopeful that we will be able to work through our differences and reach an agreement we can all support.'

Ranking Member Granger's remarks in each full committee markup today are linked below:
Energy and Water Development FY22 Full Committee Markup
Transportation and Housing and Urban Development FY22 Full Committee Markup
Revised 302(b)s Full Committee Markup