[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 112 (Monday, July 25, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 21, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2551) making 
     appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2012, and for other purposes:

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the FY 2012 
Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill. Not because I object to cuts 
affecting Members of Congress or their staff. I do not. As I have 
repeatedly said, I believe a responsible solution to our national debt 
will require shared sacrifice from every American--and that includes 
Members of Congress, their staff and other employees of this House.
  I object to this legislation because of the wrongheaded choices it 
makes elsewhere in the legislative branch of our government. For 
example, H.R. 2551 cuts funding for the Government Accountability 
Office by 6.4%--despite the fact that every dollar spent by the GAO on 
its oversight activities returns $4 in savings to the taxpayers. 
Additionally, as we wrestle with difficult issues in an increasingly 
complex world, I think Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle 
would agree that policymakers need access to more objective and 
independent expert analysis, not less. Yet this bill slashes funding 
for the Library of Congress and its widely respected nonpartisan 
Congressional Research Service by 8.5%--and it cuts funding for the 
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that serves as the definitive 
scorekeeper for every measure Congress considers by 6.4%.
  Mr. Speaker, there are responsible and effective ways to reduce 
federal spending, and there are irresponsible and ineffective ways to 
reduce Federal spending. Unfortunately, this bill has too much of the 
latter and not enough of the former.
  I urge a no vote.

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