[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 157 (Monday, September 24, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 5895, ENERGY AND WATER, LEGISLATIVE BRANCH, 
AND MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 13, 2018

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank Ranking Member Lowey and 
all of the Ranking Members of these subcommittees for their leadership 
and negotiation skills. This bill is truly a testament to Democratic 
leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, I rise 
today to speak on H.R. 5895, the conference report that contains the 
Fiscal Year 2019 bills for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, 
Energy and Water, and the Legislative Branch.
  While this is not a perfect bill, I support this bill, which provides 
$8.8 million in new funding for Members to pay interns. As someone who 
started as an intern in the office of the late Congressman Ron Dellums, 
I know how important interns are to ensure that Capitol Hill runs 
smoothly.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Military-Veterans Affairs 
Subcommittee, I am proud that this bill provides a total of $97.1 
billion in spending--which is $5.15 billion more than the fiscal year 
2018--for our veterans.
  The bill also includes important report language which ensures 
greater oversight of jointly managed projects between the VA and the 
Army Corps of Engineers, like the Alameda Point project in my district.
  Finally, while this is a good bill, I worry that this bill is short-
sighted and will not address future funding needs for the VA Mission 
Act. As the daughter of a veteran, I know that our servicemembers and 
their families make enormous sacrifices to serve our nation.
  Their tireless service more than earns them our commitment to 
addressing this funding issue. So, I look forward to continuing to work 
on this and improve quality of life for our servicemembers and their 
families.
  But I am deeply concerned, Mr. Speaker, about the $65 million 
included in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill for a new low-
yield nuclear weapon. I tried in Committee and on the Floor to cut this 
funding, but Republicans rejected my amendment.
  Mr. Speaker, the warhead funded in this bill would set a dangerous 
precedent--that of arming our submarines with a low-yield ballistic 
missile--something that has never been done in the many decades of our 
nuclear deterrence.
  What's worse--funding this warhead lowers the threshold for nuclear 
weapons use and could put us on a dangerous path to war.
  And frankly our nation shouldn't just rely on building more nuclear 
weapons. We must ensure that diplomacy is our nation's first pathway to 
address these global challenges.
  Mr. Speaker, we are making Americans less safe with this nuclear 
weapon. I am deeply disturbed with this inclusion and I hope my 
colleagues will join me in opposition to this funding of a nuclear 
weapon.

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