WASHINGTON – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) released the following statement on the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act:
“Nearly six months after the original deadline, the House has finally passed all 12 government funding bills. It is outrageous that it’s taken this long, and it shouldn’t have been done this way.
“Today I voted to support the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act. There’s no way around it: this was not a perfect bill. It included many provisions that I don’t support, but that’s what happens when six bills are combined into one and voted on six months past their deadline. We should instead be considering each of the 12 spending bills individually — and on time — so we have the opportunity to vote against problematic portions.
“However, since the bill included essential funding for the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, I ultimately felt supporting it was in the best interest of our country. I cannot in good conscience vote against our troops or critical initiatives that will secure our border.
“The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act will save taxpayers more than $200 billion over the next ten years by cutting wasteful government spending while also strategically increasing defense spending, providing a 5.2% pay raise for our military members who put their lives on the line for this nation, and providing a 25% increase for border security technology and 22,000 Border Patrol agents.
“Moving forward, I will continue to raise these concerns with the Speaker and demand he take up my Stay on Schedule (S.O.S.) Resolution to keep Members of Congress in session instead of recessing for the month of August. That way we can focus on each appropriations bill individually, through regular order, and get them done on time and responsibly. This will help keep last-minute, dangerous additions out of each bill and produce a better end result.”
