[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 2, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E264-E265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE RULES OF THE U.S. HOUSE DENY MEMBERS THE ABILITY TO FULFILL OUR 
                          CONSTITUTIONAL ROLE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 2016

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, the rules of the U.S. House prohibit 
congressionally directed spending. This prohibition undermines the 
ability of Members of Congress to represent their constituents, denies 
Members the opportunity to respond to critical needs that are in the 
national interest, and it strips Members of their authority pursuant to 
Article 1,

[[Page E265]]

section 9, clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution--the authority to 
appropriate funds. Members of Congress are not even allowed the 
opportunity to offer amendments to a bill to be voted on by a committee 
or the Committee of the Whole on a construction project or research 
program deemed to be in contrary to the rule.
  What the ban on congressionally directed spending does do is empower 
the Executive Branch to dictate to Congress projects, programs and 
priorities without input from Members. It denies Members the ability to 
advance alternatives to the President's priorities that better reflect 
the needs of states, communities and constituents. With this rule, 
Congress has unilaterally diminished our own power and ceded excessive 
power to the President. The House of Representatives' ``power of the 
purse'' must be more than simply rubber stamping funding for whatever 
project or program the President proposes.
  My attached letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on 
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies highlights 
an example of how the ban on congressionally directed spending denies 
me--a member of the Appropriations Committee--the opportunity to 
advocate for a project that has been approved by the Department of 
Defense, in the Department's funding queue, and is now delayed for 
arbitrary budget reasons without any consultation with Congress. House 
rules deny me the opportunity to amend this decision. I find this 
outrageous and a clear example of how this Congress cedes power to 
unelected federal officials in the Executive Branch.
  It is time to change the rules, repeal the prohibition on 
congressionally directed spending, and allow Members of Congress to do 
our job on behalf of the people who elected us.

                                     House of Representatives,

                                    Washington, DC, March 1, 2016.
     Hon. Charlie Dent,
     Chair, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans 
         Affairs and Related Agencies, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Sanford Bishop,
     Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Military Construction, 
         Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chair Dent and Ranking Member Bishop: I am extremely 
     concerned that the President's FY2017 budget proposal has 
     failed to fund a shovel ready Minnesota Army National Guard 
     project that has been in the pipeline since the release of 
     the FY13 budget for FY17. The $39,000,000 for the Army 
     National Guard Readiness Center in Arden Hills, MN (Project 
     Number 270132 in the Department of the Army, Army National 
     Guard FY17 Military Construction budget) now has been moved 
     to FY18. This delay will directly affect the ability of 
     members of the Minnesota National Guard to train effectively 
     and carry out their duties to their utmost potential.
       This facility is necessary to house the Headquarters and 
     Headquarters Company and Company A 34th Infantry Division 
     currently assigned to the Rosemount, MN Readiness Center, and 
     Company B 34th Infantry Division currently assigned to the 
     Inver Grove Heights, MN Readiness Center. Both of these 
     facilities are undersized and seriously lacking in critical 
     areas that support mission readiness. The construction of the 
     Readiness Center in Arden Hills is long overdue and necessary 
     to relieve over population in other aging National Guard 
     facilities in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
       What is truly outrageous is that this Congress has ceded 
     the authority of Members, and particularly Appropriators, 
     under the Constitution, to fund critically significant 
     federal investments in our communities. Congress, by giving 
     up the authority to direct spending and projects, has 
     conceded a vital authority to the Administration. This 
     Military Construction, Veterans Affairs bill makes it clear 
     that the House and the Appropriations Committee now takes its 
     guidance from Administration staff and the Office of 
     Management and Budget, which I find unacceptable. Meanwhile 
     the representatives elected by the American people, including 
     Appropriators, are denied the opportunity to advance vital 
     projects unless granted permission by the Executive Branch.
       Therefore, I will not be submitting any requests to the 
     Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and 
     Related Agencies because if I were to advocate for the 
     members of the Minnesota Army National Guard and attempt to 
     get funding reinstated in this year's appropriations bill, I 
     would presumably be in violation of the ban on 
     congressionally directed spending.
       It is time to change this flawed system.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Betty McCollum,
     Member of Congress.

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