[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 205 (Thursday, December 27, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





      IN HONOR OF 115TH CONGRESS HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 27, 2018

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, for the past two years, it has been 
my immense honor to serve as Chairman of the House Committee on 
Appropriations.
  This esteemed committee is charged with the ``power of the purse'' 
under the Constitution, and I did not take this responsibility lightly. 
In leading this committee, I had a singular focus on ``getting our work 
done.''
  I am proud to say that in Fiscal Year 2019, we achieved something 
that hasn't been done in over two decades--passing five Appropriations 
bills ahead of the end of the fiscal year.
  This is not a remarkable feat nor one that deserves applause. But it 
is historic, and it signifies that we were able to do what the American 
people sent us here to do: govern responsibly. This was a critical step 
in returning to the regular federal funding process.
  These bills, which fund 75 percent of the federal government, 
included full funding for the Department of Defense and critical 
national security programs.
  My deepest devotion has always been to our men and women in uniform, 
all volunteers--to ensure they have the resources they need to fight 
and succeed in our missions. For their service and sacrifice, they must 
know they have the full support of the government behind them. I am 
proud to say we achieved that, providing stability and predictability 
where there had been none for many years. And we were able to provide 
historic levels of funding for the care of our veterans who have served 
our nation.
  Prior to this year, we laid the groundwork for this relative success. 
In Fiscal Year 2018, we passed all 12 bills in record time through 
``regular order,'' and three Disaster Supplemental Appropriations 
bills, historic in scope, to help our fellow citizens in their times of 
need.
  It is the duty of Congress to help communities and families recover 
in times of great tragedy and emergencies, and the Appropriations 
Committee was consistently able to respond quickly and get resources 
into the hands of many communities, states, and regions of our nation.
  We achieved this all through an open and transparent process. Over 
the past two years, we held 160 oversight and budget hearings, received 
and considered tens of thousands of requests from members, and brought 
many bills to the floor under an open amendment process. Of this, the 
committee should be very proud.
  One of the hallmarks of the committee is the collegiality and 
bipartisan spirit in which our members work. Although we did not agree 
on everything, we all have great respect for the committee and our 
Constitutional duty to fund the government. Working in this manner best 
serves our districts, our states, and our country.
  I owe a debt of gratitude to my colleagues on the Committee, 
especially the Subcommittee Chairs and Ranking Members, for their work 
over the past two years. They have fought ferociously for their 
priorities, and their intentions have always been to make this nation a 
better place to live and work:
  The Ranking Member of the full committee and the State and Foreign 
Operations Subcommittee, and incoming Chairwoman, Mrs. Lowey of New 
York.
  The Chairwoman of the Defense Subcommittee and incoming full 
committee Ranking Member, Ms. Granger of Texas.
  The Ranking Member of the Defense Subcommittee, Mr. Visclosky of 
Indiana.
  The Chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee, Mr. Aderholt of 
Alabama.
  The Ranking Member of the Agriculture Subcommittee, Mr. Bishop of 
Georgia.
  The Chairman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee, Mr. 
Culberson of Texas.
  The Ranking Member of the Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee, 
Mr. Serrano of New York.
  The Chairman of the Energy and Water Subcommittee, Mr. Simpson of 
Idaho.
  The Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee, Ms. Kaptur 
of Ohio.
  The Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee, Mr. Graves of 
Georgia.
  The Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee, Mr. 
Quigley of Illinois.
  The Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, Mr. Yoder of 
Kansas.
  The Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, Ms. Roybal-
Allard of California.
  The Chairman of the Interior Subcommittee, Mr. Calvert of California.
  The Ranking Member of the Interior Subcommittee, Ms. McCollum of 
Minnesota.
  The Chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education 
Subcommittee, Mr. Cole of Oklahoma.
  The Ranking Member of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education Subcommittee, Ms. DeLauro of Connecticut.
  The Chairman of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, Mr. Fortenberry 
of Nebraska.
  The Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, Mr. Ryan 
of Ohio.
  The Chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs 
Subcommittee, Mr. Carter of Texas.
  The Ranking Member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs 
Subcommittee, Ms. Wasserman Schultz of Florida.
  The Chairman of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee and 
Chairman Emeritus, Mr. Rogers of Kentucky.
  The Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development 
Subcommittee, Mr. Diaz-Balart of Florida, and
  The Ranking Member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban 
Development Subcommittee, Mr. Price of North Carolina.
  And the 27 other members who served the House Appropriations 
Committee in the 115th Congress with honor and dedication.
  The committee would not have achieved all we did without the work of 
our faithful staff. These men and women spent countless hours--
sacrificing time with their families, including holidays--preparing for 
many public hearings and shepherding our legislation to the House floor 
and to passage. I cannot thank them enough for their time, energy, and 
professional expertise:


                         From our front office

  Nancy Fox, Staff Director; Maureen Holohan, Shannon O'Keefe, Jennifer 
Hing, Jason Gray, Marta Hernandez, Tammy Hughes, Rachel Kahler, Parker 
Van de Water, Tom Doelp, and the late Stephen Sepp.


             The Majority's subcommittee professional staff

  Tom O'Brien, Andrew Cooper, Justin Masucci, John Martens, Jeff 
Ashford, Leslie Albright, Colin Samples, Taylor Kelly, Jennifer Miller, 
Walter Hearne, Brooke Boyer, BG Wright, Allison Deters, Sherry Young, 
Matt Bower.
  Jackie Ripke, Hayden Milberg, Bill Adkins, Barry Walker, Angie 
Giancarlo, Loraine Heckenberg, Perry Yates, Amy Murphy, Dena Baron, 
Ariana Sarar, Marybeth Nassif, Brad Allen, Donna Shahbaz, Kris Mallard, 
Laura Cylke, Robert Joachim.
  Dave Roth, Darren Benjamin, Betsy Bina, Jaclyn Kilroy, Kristin 
Richmond, Susan Ross, Jennifer Cama, Justin Gibbons, Karyn Richman, 
Lori Bias, Jennifer Panone, Tim Monahan, Sue Quantius, Sarah Young, 
Kiya Batmanglidj.
  Tracey Russell, Craig Higgins, Susan Adams, David Bortnick, Winnie 
Chang, Dean Koulouris, Clelia Alvarado, Doug Disrud, Cheryle Tucker, 
Carl Barrick, Jennifer Hollrah, Matt Anderson.


                          And in the minority

  Shalanda Young, Staff Director; Chris Bigelow; Bob Bonner, Martha 
Foley, Steve Marchese, Joe Carlile, Matt Washington, Matthew Smith, 
Darek Newby, Erin Kolodjeski, Becky Leggieri, David Reich.
  Angela Ohm, Stephen Steigleder, Lisa Molyneux, Rita Culp, Jocelyn 
Hunn, Robin Juliano, Adam Berg, Jennifer Chartrand, Jaime Shimek, Evan 
Hollander, Jeri Sparling, Tom Tucker.
  I salute each and every member of the Professional Staff of the House 
Appropriations Committee--who are truly the unsung heroes of Congress.
  My father, a former Member of Congress himself, reminded me often 
that as Members of Congress, we are temporary stewards of the public 
trust. I have sincerely endeavored to earn that trust every day. I 
thank my colleagues for placing their confidence in me as Chairman of 
the Appropriations Committee. I thank my personal office staff in 
Morristown, NJ, and Washington, D.C., and most importantly, I thank my 
constituents and my home state for the honor of a lifetime serving as 
the Representative from New Jersey's 11th Congressional District.