[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 194 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7795-S7796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. VAN HOLLEN:

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  S. 3179. A bill making appropriations for financial services and 
general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Appropriations.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Fiscal 
Year 2022 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 
which will help fund essential government programs that invest in the 
success of everyday Americans and help build a stronger, more resilient 
economy with greater opportunity and more shared prosperity for all.
  As chair of the Financial Services and General Government 
Appropriations Subcommittee, I developed this bill with the help of 
Ranking Member Cindy Hyde-Smith from Mississippi, and I want to begin 
by thanking her and the Appropriations Committee staff on both sides 
that have helped assemble this legislation. Putting together any one 
piece of the Federal budget is beyond the power of any one individual; 
it takes a dedicated team of public servants working shoulder-to-
shoulder, day-in and day-out--and committed to delivering real results 
for the American people. I appreciate Senator Hyde-Smith's partnership 
on our subcommittee, and I also want to thank Senator Leahy and Ranking 
Member Shelby for their leadership on the full committee.
  And in addition to my colleagues and partners on Capitol Hill who 
have contributed to this legislation, our work has also been guided by 
the input of others, outside of the Senate, who have offered their 
testimony and insight. In order to craft this spending package, the 
Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee held public 
hearings with the Treasury Department and the IRS, a public hearing to 
help understand Postal Service delivery issues, and a public hearing to 
learn about the important role of Community Development banks in 
economically challenged communities. We were briefed by an array of 
agencies under the bill's jurisdictions and met with stakeholders who 
would be directly affected by key elements of this legislation, 
including residents from my home State of Maryland.
  The result of those combined efforts can be seen in the substance of 
this year's Financial Services and General Government spending bill, 
which provides $29.4 billion to bring critical services to the American 
people by funding a number of important Federal agencies and government 
bodies from the Treasury Department to the Small Business 
Administration to the Federal Judiciary to the D.C. courts--and much 
more. Today, I would like to share with the American people exactly 
what is in this bill and how they stand to benefit from the provisions 
within it.
  First and foremost, this bill arms the IRS with the resources it 
needs to ramp up customer service. This bill includes $13.6 billion for 
the IRS, an increase of $1.6 billion over last year's spending levels, 
and these funds will allow the IRS to bring taxpayer services into the 
21st century by upgrading and replacing aging IRS infrastructure. For 
working families, that means improved service and shorter hold times 
when they call the IRS with questions.
  That additional funding will also allow the IRS to go after those 
ultra-wealthy tax cheats who have avoided paying what they owe to the 
government. Now, let's be clear: Each year, millions of folks pay what 
they owe, fill out their tax forms, and send them in to the IRS 
honestly and on time, and they trust that others do the same. But we 
know that while most people pay what they are required to under the 
law, some do not. There is anywhere from $500 billion to $1 trillion in 
taxes each year that are owed but not paid, primarily by the wealthy. 
That is billions of dollars that are overdue under current law and 
which should be available to help fund everything from education to our 
national defense. Both my Republican and Democratic colleagues know 
that doing nothing and allowing this tax gap to grow on our watch just 
isn't right. It flies in the face of basic fairness. While everyday 
Americans have their taxes withheld and follow the law, we cannot allow 
the super wealthy to evade the system. Everyone needs to pay what they 
owe. By enhancing the agility of the IRS to crack down on individuals 
who sidestep their current tax responsibilities, we can raise more 
revenue without raising taxes by a single dime.
  The investment in a robust IRS will deliver additional monies to 
invest in growing opportunity and wealth in all of our communities, 
including underserved communities. And that mission has taken on an 
added measure of urgency as our country continues to recover from the 
economic fallout of COVID-19. Our bill helps meet the full promise of 
that very mission by providing $360 million for the Community 
Development Financial Institutions Fund, a $90 million increase from 
last year's spending levels. CDFIs are key vehicles for funding 
businesses and projects in economically underserved communities. My 
State of Maryland is proud to have 13 certified community-based lenders 
across our State that benefit directly from the CDFI fund L, and 
earlier this year, I chaired a subcommittee hearing that included 
testimony from a Maryland constituent and valued adviser, Mr. Joseph 
Haskins, Jr., who is the chairman of Harbor Bank in Baltimore, a 
certified CDFI that has helped create $3 billion in economic 
development in the Baltimore community since its founding in 2001. And 
just last month, I convened a roundtable with Shelly Gross-Wade, the 
CEO of the only CDFI in Prince George's County, MD, to discuss how we 
can better support minority small businesses across the region. 
Community lenders support a wide range of local projects, including 
everything from bringing grocery stores to communities with no healthy 
food alternatives to investing in low-income housing, and I am glad 
that we were able to include robust funding for CDFIs in this year's 
bill.
  On top of that, this bill provides additional resources for 
communities and small businesses through $1 billion for the Small 
Business Administration, so we can make sure businesses continue to 
recover from the pandemic--and can grow stronger into the future. Small 
businesses are the backbone of our economy, and this spending bill puts 
that notion front-and-center in our Federal budget. I am proud that 
this legislation also includes a $53 million increase for 
Entrepreneurial Development Grants that will encourage entrepreneurs to 
build businesses and create good-paying jobs--including entrepreneurs 
from historically under-served communities.
  Money that goes to the SBA will also help make sure our small 
businesses have the support they need to get back on their feet in the 
wake of devastating natural disasters, which we all know have been on 
the rise due to the growing and very real consequences of climate 
change, an issue that demands this government's full and undivided 
attention. Extreme weather events get worse and worse each year, and my 
State of Maryland is feeling the pain of that trend right now in the 
aftermath of Tropical Depression Ida. I am glad that the Small Business 
Administration approved Maryland's request for a Disaster Declaration 
for those impacted by Ida, which has unlocked additional low-interest 
loans for businesses and homeowners in affected communities and 
emphasizes how just important the SBA is in helping our fellow citizens 
endure the impacts of climate change.
  But if we want to tackle the climate crisis head-on, it isn't enough 
for us to support those who have already been harmed by the devastating 
effects of global warming; we also need to cut emissions. That is why 
this bill invests $200 million in transitioning the Federal fleet to 
zero-emission vehicles. There are currently around 655,000 gas-powered 
vehicles in the federal fleet that spew more than 7 billion pounds of 
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year. With this bill, that 
will change. We need to take an all-of-government approach to tackling 
the climate crisis, and this provision within our legislation helps us 
do just that.
  And as we invest in the health of our planet, we also need to invest 
in the health of our democracy and I am glad that this bill is a big 
win for increased campaign finance transparency in two major ways. 
First, this legislation drops a long-standing rider that blocked the 
SEC from requiring public companies to share their political spending 
with shareholders. Shareholders and the public have a right to know 
what political causes their money is being used to support, decisions 
that can go against their values

[[Page S7796]]

or put their investments at risk. Our legislation will enable the SEC 
to shine a light on that secret spending. And second, the bill drops a 
longstanding rider that blocked the Treasury from clarifying the 
definition of ``political activity'' for 501(c)(4) social welfare 
group, which are major sources of secret election spending.
  More transparency in political fundraising is part of the essential 
mission to restore faith in government. Toward that same end, this bill 
also mandates greater transparency in how the Office of Management and 
Budget manages apportionments, which is the process of spending the 
money that Congress appropriates. And additionally, this bill works to 
ensure that our government represents the full diversity of the United 
States by expanding opportunities for DREAMers so that DACA recipients 
can be employed by the Federal Government. DREAMers should be able to 
bring their skills, talents, and unique perspectives to government 
jobs, where decisions affecting their communities are made every day, 
and our legislation allows them to participate fully in public service. 
This legislation also includes an increase in funding to the White 
House that would allow for paid internships, and I urge the President 
to use these funds to offer the opportunity to enter Federal service to 
more young people.
  But while we work to recruit more of our fellow Americans to serve, 
we also need to ensure that those who are currently serving can work in 
offices that meet their full needs. That is why I am particularly 
pleased to include language in this bill urging the General Service 
Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to move forward 
on the proposed new, consolidated FBI headquarter, a process that was 
abruptly halted by the last administration. The FBI currently works in 
a crumbling building that fails to meet its operational and security 
needs, and it is time to move forward on the process of securing a new 
campus. I would be remiss if I did not note that Maryland, which is 
already home to many FBI employees, has two fully vetted sites in this 
process. I am committed to getting this new campus, which is over a 
decade in the making, finally completed to meet the needs of the FBI' s 
mission.
  And in addition to strengthening the core planks of government by 
expanding transparency, helping grow pathways to service, and upgrading 
Federal buildings, the Financial Services and General Government bill 
also strengthens the government's ability to take on pressing crises 
facing our communities, including our Nation's ongoing challenges with 
addiction. It provides a 9-percent increase in funding for the Office 
of National Drug Control Policy, including resources for the High-
Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program and the Drug-Free Communities 
program, which helps prevent drug addiction among our Nation's youth. 
Substance use disorders continue to tear at the fabric of our 
communities, including in my home State of Maryland, and this vital 
funding is essential both to stopping illegal drug trafficking and to 
healing my State and States across the country that have been plagued 
by addiction.
  Finally, I would also like to note that this bill ends harmful riders 
that have interfered with the District of Columbia's ability to spend 
its own taxpayer dollars, an example of Congressional meddling in local 
affairs that no Senator would tolerate toward their own State. And this 
bill includes $760 million in special Federal payments for over a dozen 
distinct purposes relating to DC, including $40 million for the DC 
Tuition Assistance Grant Program to expand higher education choices for 
students of the District. And at a time when we see attacks on a 
women's right to choose across this country, I am proud to say this 
bill ends years of restrictions to abortion care by dropping a rider 
that prohibited the District of Columbia--and Federal health insurance 
systems--from providing coverage for abortion services. This is sound 
policy that the majority of Americans support, and this provision is 
essential to protecting reproductive freedoms in this country.
  In short, this legislation enhances services that help everyday 
people, builds more economic opportunity, uplifts working families, 
delivers support directly to our communities, fights climate change, 
strengthens our democracy, accelerates our work to modernize the IRS, 
and does much, much more, and we must get it to the President's desk.
  While I wish we could consider this bill under regular order, have a 
conference with the House and sign it into law, we are quickly running 
out of time. It is imperative that we enact this spending bill and the 
other 11 appropriations bills by December 3 when the current continuing 
resolution runs out to avoid a government shutdown, and in order to 
meet that deadline, we will likely be negotiating an omnibus. I look 
forward to working with Ranking Member Hyde-Smith and our House 
colleagues to move this process forward immediately because we have no 
time to waste. So let's now push ahead with our work, finish these 
bills, and do the job the American people sent us here to do.
                                 ______