ms. granger: mr. speaker, i rise toy in support of this six-bill appropriation package. i'm glad we are here to csi to thank everyone who participated in this process.

with the odds stacked against us, house republicans made progress in how we fund the government. we drafted the most conservive bills in history. members submitted over 1,000 amendments, we considered house bills individually on the floor. and we avoided a massive omnibus measure.■■ilv in total, we increased defense funding and made targeted cuts. we also made -- maintained our legacy under my colleagues on the other side of aisle -- want to remove. this bill honors our commitment strengthens our energy security, holds agencies accountable, supports our

farmers and and makes our transportation system safer. i urge my colleagues to supporte balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. it is regrettable tha measure before us. i'm anguished over it for one simple reason. veterans' lives are on the line. i have the greatest respect for my colleague, the ranking member of the appropriations committee, and i know it was a difficult road to get to this point. and i also appreciate the work of our democratic leader to con. there are many good things in this bill, things that will benefit everyday americans. but as ranking member of house veterans' affairs committee, this bill comes at the expense of our most vulnerable veterans and therefore i cannot support it. however, i want to be clear that i am not asking my colleagues to oppose the bill. mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california

reserves. the gentlelady from texas is recognized. ms. granger: i yield to the gentleman from kentucky, the chairman of the commerce, justice, science subcommittee, and dean of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: for what amount of time? ms. granger: three minutesthree. >> i thank the chairlady for yielding. mr. speaker, as chairman of the subcommittee on commerce, justice, science and related agencies, i rise in support of the appropriations act that we're considering today. mr. rogers: the fiscal situation facing the nation requires congress to make significant spending reductions, while maintaining strong commitments to the safety, security and well-being of the american

after tough but fair bipartisan negotiations, we've produced a■a strong bill that prioritizes everyday americans while right-sizing the bureaucracy. make no mistake, mr. chairman, many agencies with importantssir this legislation. we believe it's important to growth of the federal government and that is reflected in this agreement. the c.j.s. bill scales back spending by holding most agencies to 2023 levels or lower. agencies must refocus on their core missions and

responsibilities. despite limited resources, we maintain robust funding that prioritizes the fight against fentanyl, support for local law enforcement, and efforts to counter china by supporting innovation, space exploration and scientific research. we we do this while also utilizing the power of the purse to address the weaponization of the federal bureau of investigation and the overreach of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. to that end, the f.b.i. and a.t.f. will bekí receiving less money than last year. in addition, the c.j.s. bill contains two new

policy riders to protect the american people. one, prohibits the department of from targeting parents who exercise their right to free speech at local school board■m meetings. the other prohibits the department of justice from investigating churchesn the basis of their religious beliefs. the bill supports local law enforcement by including critical■5■ funding for burn justice grants and cops hiring grants. i ask an additional two minutes. ms. granger: i yield. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman is recognized for an additional two minutes. mr. rogers: this will our locale

departments to ensure they have the resources they need to safeguard our neighborhoods. law enforcement plays an important role in the well-being of every american in every congressional district. passage of this bill today sends a message, we have their backs. in closing, i want to thank chairwoman granger. she's been■ a trooper in tough circumstances and has done a wonderful job, and i congratulate her. i also want to thank the subcommittee, ranking member mr. cartwright. he's been a valued partner and colleague in this effort. want to thank all the members of the subcommittee for their help and assistance, as well as ranking member delauro. this legislation is a product of good faith, bipartisan negotiations. it's ain the

american people. so i urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and i yie the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman from kentucky yields back. the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california is >> mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from connecticut, the distinguished ranking member, ms. delauro. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. delauro: i rise in support of this legislation which provides funding for domestic rising cost of living, that creates higher paying jobs, that confronts the climate crisis. it honors our commitments to the american veterans and protects women's rights. in a divided country, i'm pleased democrats and republicans in the house and senate united and produced legislation to make the government work for the people.

they're computing people over application and folling the -- they're putting people over politics and following the law. it fully funds w.i.c. and prevents five million people from losing their housing. it increasing our and infrastructure and creates jobs. it restores funding for rail and transit systems. these funding bills, the product of bipartisan negotiations help keep our community safe and healthy. we're keeping the government open and moving legislation forward. this legislation does not haveide may have wanted but i'm pleased many of the extreme cuts and policies proposed by house republicans were

excluded. house democrats rejected outright women health care. these domestic programs empower and■y p families. it helps americans contend with an elevated cost of living. this bill flightsation and supps key lifelines such as food assistance and ensuring people in this great country of ours do not go hungry. ge of this package and look forward to finalizing and passing the remaining 2024 funding bills in due time. ance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentlelady from texas is recognized. ms. granger: i yieldw8 to the ranking member from

idaho, mr. simpson, for four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. simpson: i rise in support of the appropriations act for 2024. i'd like to commend her of the granger for appropriations committee and to getting the first six bills across the finish line. i'd like thank the ranking member subcommittee member pingree for her part on this bill. we reachedp@ a compromise to stop the government shutdown and maintains our lands and needs. it provides resources totaling $38.9 billion, nearly 4% below the cutting funding is never easy but with the national debt in excess of $34 trillion, we make tough choices in ts rein in fedl

spending. last congress alone, $3 trillion was spent outside then process. that's $3 trillion additional dollars. as i have said repeatedly, simply holding funding flat is not enough. we must curb out-of-control spending and get our budget back on track. i'm pleased that this bill does that and heads us in the right direction. we reduced funding across most agencies and bureaus and the environmental protection agency is cut by nearly 10%. despite the reduced allocation, the bill provides for an additional $34 million for health care, law enforcement, and related programs acros the indian health services, the bill continues advanced appropriations totaling $5.2 billion. that's program, the advanced appropriation that was started by ranking member pingree when she was chairman of this committaaee, and that. the bill also fully

funds payment in lieu of taxes program. let me explain that that program is vitally important to public land states because we can't collect taxes on federal lands within those states. this is supposed to make up for the taxes that would be -- would come fromd in private lands. so this is vitally important to public land not en. but we've fully funded it in this program. it also provides an additional $260 million to maintain wild land firefighter pay without irresponsible budget gimmicks. in terms of policy, the bill maintains long-snd legacy riders to prevent the s.a. listing of sage grouse and prevent livestock producers from requirements.

the bill bolsters our energy independence by encouraging domestic production of critical and rare earth and rejects administration proposals to increase offshore energy inspection fees and authorize onshore inspection fees. and for my idaho, i'm especially pleased the bill blocks the lava ridge wind project until the interior analyzes, in consultation with, in consultation with local officials and stakeholders. and they look at alternative plans to reduce the harmful impacts of this project. in closing, i want to thank all the members for their work onwo$w this bill. it is hard to reduce spending but yet we've been able to do that. and i'd like to congratulate staff on both sides of the aisle. while we were home they were working on this billll include the staff on the other side of the rotunda.

these bills are hard to compromise but we were able to get it done. it represents a fair compromise that allows us to meet the spending levels agreed to in the fiscal responsibility act and manage our public lands. i urge my colleagues to vo yes on this piece of legislation and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california is re mr. takano: i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from ohio, the rng member of the water and appropriations subcommittee, ms. kaptur. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. kaptur: thank you, mr. chair. i rise in support of this bill, the fiscal year 2024 energy and water bill t ushers in new horizons for jobs and progress for our region and nation. our bill assures investments in modernizedoduction vital water

infrastructure, and nuclear national security, all essential for american independence inside our borders. this bipartisan energy and water bill funds the u.s. department of energy, corps of engineers, bureau of reclat regional commissions and authorities impacting every corner of our nation, including the appalachian, delta, denali, northern border, southeast crescent, southwest border, and the great lakes region. u.s. energy independence in perpetuity isur consistent, paramount, strategic goal. each year our nation makes significant progress towards it. this bill ensur nation's nuclear security assets, including the nuclear navy, are modern and ready as a deterrent and to safeguard our security. with vladimir putin's recent threats of launching nuclear weapons in europe and former pre trump's appeasing reaction, this bill is needed as an affirmation

of american will to protect and defend our people and ensure our nation's security posture against all enemies. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan bill and thank our able chair, charles fleischmann, for his dutiful and responsible duty to our nation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentlelady from teis ms. granger: i yield to the gentleman from oklahoma, the chairman of the transportation, housing, urban development subcommittee and member of rules, mr. cole, . the speaker pro tempore: t he distinguished gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for three minutes. thank you and thank the gentlewoman for yielding. i want to thank the speaker of this house. this deal would not have come together without his leadership and support. i want to thank chair granger and ranking member delauro for their putting a package together that can get

across this floor in a bipartisan manner. i would be remiss not to thank my negotiating counterparts, ranking member quigley and senator shots and ranking member smith on the other side of thenda and wee terrific to work with. and finally and always, we have outstanding is staff. we all know that and this wouldn't be here without their hard work. i want to focus my remarks on the portion of the bill i had the most to do with and that's the transportation, housing, and urban development portion. there are four areas in that bill that i'm especially proud of. first, members of both parties and both sides of the aisle -- excuse me, both sides of the rotunda worked really hard on safety first, safety for people flying, safety for people that are traveling by rail, safety for men and women on the highways. and we met the requirement there andll those agencies. second, this is probably

the most robust funding the federal aeronautical agency has ever received. we have money in there for 1,800 new traffic controllers who are desperately needed. we have additional money for technology and for infrastructure programs and simulators to make sure they get the most up to date training we possibly can provide for them. so that was a real accomplishment and marries up very nicely with there-authorization bill that i hope we pass later this congress. third, we maintained the safety net for people in public housing. we all know what has happened to the cost of rents and housing, and frankly, we didn't want to put anybody out of their home, and we avoided doing that. finally, and particularly important to me personally, we have historic gains for indian housing programs and programs in this bill. none of that could have happened without the people i thanked earlier, the speaker, particularly the chairwoman, and ranking member of the subcommittee and my negotiating partners.

i urge passage of this legislation, mr. speaker. i'm very proud to be associated and very proud it will come to and move across this floor as it should in a bipartisan fashion. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro temp)ore: t he gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from georgia, the distinguished member of the agricultural subcommittee, mr. bishop. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. bishop: i support this bill, including the package on f.d.a. and related agencies. the ag bill effects the lives of every single american, rural, you cannerren and suburban -- urban and suburban, every single day, and ensures americans have access to abundant, safe and affordable food, fiber,ed me sip and and medical devices. this bill helps prevent hunger, fully funds snap, as well as w.i.c. the bill is free from almost all of the extreme policy riders in

the previous versions and it rejects interference with americans' health care and as attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion training. it protects the ag secretary's authority to use the c.c.c. and cuts to agency borrowers who helped farmers who feed our country. it rejects severe cuts to rural electric coops and the program which helped rural businesses save on energy costs and helped make rural energy grids more sustainable and resilient. it protects small, medium poultry producers and promotes industry competition to reduce the cost of food. it makes crucial investments in rural housing, rental assistance, as well as the food safety and inspection service. while the base not the best, it brings us closer -- while the bill's not the best, it brings us closer than the ear the essential needs of the american people. i want to commend president biden, the bipartisan leadership and the staff of the house and senate appropriationsk/ committs and i urge my colleagues to support the bill.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. reserves. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i yield -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves? mr. takano: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from texas is recognized. ms. granger: before i yield to the gentleman from tennessee, i want to thank him for his important contribution to this bill. he's been wonderful to work with and i appreciate that very much. i yield to the gentleman from tennessee, the chairman of the energy and subcommittee, mr. fleischmann, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. fleischmann: thank you, mr.; speaker. and i thank our wonderful chair for yielding time to me and i really appreciate your kind words. mr. speaker, i rise■ in strong support of the consolidated appropriations act for fiscal year 2024, particularly the energy and water development appropriations bill. as chairman of that subcommittee, i worked hard to

ensure the bill includes many house republican priorities. out of a total of the money, the bill advances our national security, our energy security and our economic competitiveness in a fiscally responsible manner. to support our nuclear depermit, the bill funds thefg - deterren, the bill funds the national security nuclear administration and increases it almost $2 fisc. specifically, the bill fully funds all major weapons and infrastructure modernization activities, including the w-93 warhead, the nuclear c-launched cruise missile, which is a variant of the b-61 gravity bomb, and the restart of plutonium pit production capability. ing on the nondefense -- on the nondefense side of the bill, i o secure increases for the funding for the department of energy

office of science, science. this funding will enhance america's role as the global leader of scientific discovery and lay the foundation for future senakthroughs. the programs funded in the energy and water bill also help improve our nation's energy security. to reduce our reliance on foreign sources of critical materials, the bill provides strong support for the full spectrum of production technologies. remaining the leader in nuclear technologies will ensure reliable energy here at home and will help allies ac■& globe. the bill sentence the department of energy's nuclear energy base program and also redirects fundo higher priorities. specifically $2.8 billion to develop■ aability from producing low enriched uranium, including low enriched

uranium that will be necessary for upcoming advanced reactors and $910 million to support advanced modular reactor design and deployment activities. there are many other important provisions in this energy and water bill, but before my time is up, i want to congratulate chairwoman granger on bringing together this appropriation package. i'd also like to acknowledge the efforts of our colleagues across e aisle, especially my ranking member, ms. kaptur, and our colleagues across the capitol. finally, i'd like to thank the staff for all their hard work throughout this past year. our majority staff, angie, perry, nooera, ritchie, scott, angelina and janet. and my personal daniel and ian. and on the minority side, scott, jocelyne and adam. this is a strong bill for america, with m republican priorities. i urge my colleagues to vote yes. mr. speaker, i yield back.

the speaker pro temre: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from texas reservings. the gentleman from california -- reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida, the distinguished ranking member of the military construction and veterans' affairs appropriations subcommittee, ms. wasserman schultz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. was was thank you, mr. speaker -- ms. wasserman schultz: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. as the milcon v.a. subcommittee ranking member, i support this minibus not only because we blocked nearly all poison pill policy riders, but it includes major democratic priorities. we restored military construction funding to $2 billion above the budget request. dedicated resiliency in p4zfa■"y remediation funding. we held strong on our commitment to veterans by providing $121 billion for v.a. medical care, increased and protected funding for,p■ gender- blocked republicn attempts to further restrict women's abortion access and counseling. i'm so pleased my friend, chairman carter, and i joined forces to end harmful v.a. research on dogs, cats and

nonhuman primates within two years. in ins but that lowers costs, creates jobs and fortifies america's energy independence with other parts om proud we fully fund everglades restoration at the president's budget request of $415 million. president biden has derime agair florida's environment and everglades restoration specifically. this funding allows restoration projects like theo continue to e forward so that we can save america's everglades. and finally, these bills provide millions of dollars for community project funding back home. i secured morha headed toward broward county, and community as i cross america will see similar -- across america will see similar assistance. that means funding to house veterans and help raise local streets in hollywood to mitigate climate change, it means vital help for law enforcement to conduct more detailed investigations of hu able to ser local reef preservation, genetic

disease research, water, sewer and drainage upgrades, as well as help fix nagging local infrastructure repairs that my constituents navigate every day. for all these reasons, i urge my colleagues to support this minibus and i yield back.o' the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: reserves. the gentlelady from texas is recognized. ms. granger: mr. speer time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california. the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from maine, the distinguished ranking member of the interior and environment appropriations subcommittee, ms. pingree. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. pingree: thank you very much. thank you, mr. speaker. and i thank you to the gentleman for yielding the time. i too rise to support the fiscal year 2024 consolidated appropriations act. i particularly want to thank ranking member delauro foradersn working on this. and i also want to thank my chair and the committee -- on

the committee, chairman simpson, who is a pleasure to work with and ir collaboration and partnership through this process. thank you too to chairwoman granger for your work on this and to all of the staff who have ma all the difference in us being able to put this together. as my colleague chairman simpson said, this wasn't necessarily an easy bill. it's never easy to make cuts to programs that i consider vital and particularly important to what we do. but i am pleased that this bill continues our investmen to to ft the climate emergency, and meet our trust obligations to tribal nations. this bill rejects the $13 billion in devas c imposed in the house republican bill originally and does not include more than 100 poison pill policy riders. the bill provides necessary resources to deal with the threat of wildfires in the west and provides additional funding to continue the infe investment and jobs act pay supplement for wildland firefighters. the bill also protects arts and

humanities, maintaining enacted funding level for the national endowment for the arts, and the national endowment for the humanities, supporting arts in communities across this country. and finally, this bill supports native american families by investing in a strong and resilient indian country. including through education and health care programs. these are important investments to all americans and i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. thge california. mr. takano: i reserve, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentlelady from texas. ms. granger: mr. speaker, i the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the distinguished gentleman from mer of the commerce, justice and science appropriations subcommittee, mr. cartwright. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. kriet kriet i thank -- mr. cartwright: i thank the gentleman. i rise in support of this bill. the commerce, justice and

science division of this bill preserves solid funding for an array of important public investments. for example, the manufacturing ns partnership program, a level funded at $175 million, that's so important. the bill provides strong and continued level funding for noaa climate research at nasa earth science. but before i go on, i have some thank yous toand we have incredibly hardworking staff. bob bonner, shannon mcculley, faye, n countless sleepless nights working on this enormous project for this bill. and we can't leave out chris bigelow, rakell spencer, adam wilson, jason gray. these people have been indispensable in this monumentae of legislation. i'm thankful for the very hard

work of chair kay granger and chairman hallucinate rogers, -- hal rogers, my counterpart on commerce, justice and science. also for the members of my bcnew york, dutch ruppersberger and david trone of maryland, joe morelle from new york. they've all worked hard on this, mr. speaker. and i'm thankful for the very, very hard work put in by ranking member delauro and especially l. these people together forced the removal of nearly 70 bad policy riders, covering environmental policy, immigration, women's health, culture war issues and more, including the removal of more than a dozen harmful gun riders. this bill provides robust funding for community policing, local justice assistance it rejects the g.o.p.'s proposed cut of $400 million from the f.b.i.

the f.b.i., which protects us from all sorts of murder and mayhem. the elite police force of our nation. we couldn't cut it like that and we wouldn't let it happen. this b in increase for programs under the violence against women act, continued level funding for grants under the community violence intervention and evention the stop school violence act and the victims of child abuse act grants. it's level funding correctional officers and the bureau of prisons is so important and it provides a solid increase of $8 million for the d.o.j. anti-trust division to help keep prices low in this country because they'll get away from us if we don't enforce our anti-trust laws. i'm also proud that we secured continued level funding for the legal services corporation. in summary, the c.j.s. appropriations agreement represents a solid effort to preserve these priorities and i do urge our fellow members to support it.

i yield back. the speaker pr from california. mr. takano: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from texas. ms. granger: mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to my colleague and friend from the state of roy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. for two minutes. mr. roy: i thank the gentleman from california. i would note that we've only really had now two people speak in opposition to the bill out of the 40 minutes it's been on the floor. and that's just the reality of what we dole with here -- deal with here. the fact of the matter is all of this is a shell game. last year republicans were presented with a bill that was t $1.59 trillion. now we have legislation that will do no sucho around and they'll talk about how they scored major wins. how they somehow delivered for the american people. the fact of the matter is, we

did no such. we signed up for caps at $1.59 trillion. we could have had $1.56 trillion if we a c.r. this year that would have triggered the caps. $1.47 trillion, but we're not doing that. we're going to blow the lid off of caps at 1dz.66 trillion -- $1.66 trillion. that's what we're actually going to do. while my republican colleagues are going to run and say that they somehow delivered cuts by saying -- saying $24 billion of cuts off of a c.r. that not one member of this body could come down to the floor and explain. take that challenge. if any member couldhe american people in terms they could understand, explain it, exactly what the cuts look like. because what you'll get are things like oh, we cut 7% out of the f.b.i. but what they won't tell you is 95% of that cut is eliminating an earmark from richard

shelby because richard shelby is no longer here to defend his pet project building in alabama. and they're going to say oh, look, we're cutting the department of justice and the f.b.i., but the truth of the matter is we didn't get any of the major wins that we worked all last year to get. all of these things like funding the sanctuary cities refusing to report criminal aliens, gone. all these measures are not in the bill. i rise in opposition to this legislation. colleagues will oppose it. we deserve to deliver for the american people the way we said we would to cut spending and secure theed states. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from texas. mr. granger: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i need touchup a light

on an ugly truth buried deep in section 413 of this bill. what is this section all about? when a veteran applies for benefits they've earned, they're screened to make sure they're confident to use those benefits and not taken advantage of. if a veteran is medically incompetent they're appointed a fiduciary and referred to the criminal background checks system known as the nix list. medical incompetent tensey is based on schizophrenia and dementia and serious health conditions. and therere very serious reasons why people with those conditions should not be able to purchase a firearm. it's also the case that firearms are used in 68% of veterans' deaths by suicide. suicide is a serious problem among veterans and since i've had the honor

committee, i fought to stop the scourge of veteran suicide. why on earth would this congress ced one more important safeguard against a veteran's death. i cannot and why i cannot support this bill. republicans have pushed this type of provision for over a decade. i know because i fought every year against this provision. and they have done so with misinformation and fear mongering. and democrats have successfully fought this legin committee which is why republicans did not have the courage to bring this to the floor in the light of day and have this body consider it through t noal regular order. instead they crammed it into this must pass bill, the backdoor of a spendingoned all their other so-called priorities because they wanted this so badly. they wanted so badly to make sure that

could access more firearms. this is wrong. lives are on the line. lives arn the line. i will not agree to legislation that will cause more people's lives to be lost to gun violence. house democrats have been working to put people over clear that the republican majority is content to put politics over veterans. including prioritizing politics over veterans lives. i ask unanimous consent that the statement of administration policy on h.r. 4366 and a statement from the giffords organization, which both speak to the harm of this provision be entered into the record, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: w ithout objection. mr. takano: i will not rest until this rider is gone from any future appropriations bill■# and urge my colleagues to join me in that effort. but for now i must oppose this bill. there are a lot of good reasons, there are a lot of good things in this bi, don't ask my

colleagues to join me in opposing this bill. i have a great deal of respect for my good friend, the ranking member of committee, ms. delauro, and the significant amount of work that went into this. but i my conscience because of my responsibility to veterans. thank you, mr. speaker, and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from ms. granger: mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time.::mk the speaker pro tempore: t he gentlelady from texas yields back her time. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: i have no spur speakers and am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: i sadly must oppose the bill but hearing is

just under an hour a a half. no]