[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 152 (Friday, December 12, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1838-E1839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INSULAR AREAS AND FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

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                               speech of

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 9, 2014

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, it's inexcusable that the least 
productive Congress in history has waited until the final hour to 
produce an appropriations package this flawed. The bill fails to take 
advantage of opportunities to save money, ranging from defense to 
agricultural reforms, and has instead chosen to make indefensible 
reductions across critical programs.
  In most areas, from health reform to education, the resources 
committed are insufficient to keep up with inflation let alone tackle 
the problems that confront America's families.
  I have deep concerns regarding a policy rider snuck into the bill 
that would allow wealthy campaign donors to contribute ten times as 
much money as the current individual caps allow, further flooding our 
political system with dark money. Campaign finance provisions are 
completely non-germane to this bill, and the last thing America needs 
is to make it easier to spend more money on campaigns.
  Instead of making difficult choices about how to fund the Department 
of Defense, and our sprawling nuclear arsenal, we've chosen an ``all of 
the above'' approach, providing the Pentagon with everything it wants, 
and then some. Managed to at once give it too much for wrong things and 
refuse to begin reforms the DOD knows it needs and wants to carry out.
  The bill commits the U.S. to rebuilding our nuclear triad of ground-
based missiles, bombers, and submarines, an effort that could cost over 
$1 trillion dollars over the next 30 years and ensure nuclear weapons 
remain a foundation of U.S. defense planning.
  Nothing epitomizes this self-destructive urge than the dramatic cuts 
to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The $10.9 billion in funding for 
the IRS represents a cut of $350 million from last year. Since fiscal 
year 2010, Congress has cut IRS funding by almost $1.2 billion--10 
percent--forcing the agency to slash its full-time, permanent workforce 
by 13,000 employees. This occurred even as the country added 
approximately 7 million new taxpayers. As a result, the IRS's current 
staffing level is 26 percent below the number of employees it had 18 
years ago.
  Among these cuts, the IRS has lost 5,000 enforcement personnel, such 
as revenue agents and criminal investigators. This leaves billions of 
dollars in tax revenue uncollected. Every dollar that we invest in the 
IRS generates $7 in return. Compliance with our tax code is largely 
voluntary and these cuts make it much harder for taxpayers to navigate 
the system. The IRS was already predicting that only 53 percent of 
taxpayers who call for help would get through to an IRS agent during 
the 2015 tax season. Even then, the caller would have an average wait 
of 34 minutes--while the other half would be left to fend for 
themselves. This is no way to run a government.
  I've met with IRS employees reduced to tears by their frustration 
being unable to help taxpayers in a timely manner. If someone can get 
through, they then get a taxpayer who is frustrated, probably angry, as 
well as confused.
  The Homeland Security appropriations bill was one of the most 
bipartisan this year. Holding up full-year funding for this agency, and 
in turn national security, in an effort to undermine the 
Administration's executive order on immigration reform is a reckless, 
maybe even dangerous game.
  The bill includes a number of problematic environmental provisions.
  Moving away from the scientific consensus, it continues to bar the 
Department of Energy from enforcing important standards for light bulb 
efficiency. It prohibits the EPA from regulating lead ammunition. It 
prohibits the Fish and Wildlife Service from issuing any Endangered 
Species Act listing rules for sage grouse species. It cuts important 
farm bill conservation programs. It also maintains ever lower funding 
for the EPA, while environmental challenges mount. Since 2010, that 
agency's budget has been cut by more than $2 billion dollars, or 21 
percent.
  The bill also includes a very problematic rider that interferes with 
the direct will of the voters in the District of Columbia. The language 
is ambiguous, and I share the sentiments of Representatives Norton and 
Serrano that this amendment should not be interpreted as halting the DC 
measure entirely. Regardless of the interpretation, it is very 
troubling that Congress interferes with the DC Council's ability to 
govern to make the city safer and reflect the wishes of its citizens.
  America cannot afford to roll the dice on financial reform. This bill 
rolls back Section 716 of Dodd-Frank, which attempts to deal with the 
dangerous liability stemming from derivatives trading in taxpayer-
insured banks. America cannot afford to risk another taxpayer bailout 
for Wall Street, while we are still recovering from the last meltdown.
  These and many other provisions are deeply concerning and more bad 
provisions will emerge as people finally have time to read the bill. 
Nonetheless, in more than 1,000 pages and over a trillion dollars of 
spending, there are some bright spots.
  For more than a decade, I've worked to increase access to clean 
drinking water and sanitation for the world's poorest populations. The 
cornerstone of this effort has been through the implementation of my 
legislation, the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005. This is 
funded in this bill at its highest level ever. This demonstrates a 
significant commitment from the U.S. to prioritize this type of 
development assistance and is an example of what is possible with 
bipartisan cooperation.
  I am pleased the bill makes it clear that Congress believes the 
Department of Transportation should develop separate performance 
measures for non-motorized traffic injuries and fatalities. It's past 
time to put bicyclists and pedestrians on equal footing with motorists 
when it comes to distributing safety money.
  This bill also includes two amendments that I cosponsored and worked 
closely on to create a more rational drug policy. One amendment, led by 
Mr. Rohrabacher, would stop DOJ and DEA from interfering with state 
medical marijuana laws. This represents a historic shift by the federal 
government in marijuana policy. This suggests that Congress may finally 
catch up with how most Americans think and behave.
  Another amendment, led by Mr. Massie, would ensure that the DEA 
cannot intervene in legal hemp research by universities and state 
departments of agriculture. This is the final step in a process that we 
began almost two years ago, by first passing an amendment to the farm 
bill allowing the research. This additional language should finally 
protect those programs.
  As the Co-Chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, I am 
pleased to see a

[[Page E1839]]

few key provisions in this legislation that set the stage for future 
productive efforts, such as animal welfare enforcement funding and 
language restricting funding for horse slaughter.
  These and other positive provisions, however, in no way offset the 
harm caused by the many destructive elements and the horrible precedent 
set for future action. A Republican House majority that campaigned on 
promises to reform and respect the process has instead abased it. A 
massive bill released too late to read, let alone understand, makes a 
mockery of their promises and I refuse to support it.

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