On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2014 with a bipartisan vote of 359 to 67. Congressman Larry Bucshon, a physician from Southern Indiana, released the following statement regarding his vote to support the legislation:
“My goal as a public servant is to give everyone a fair shot to make it, provide for their family, and build a better life,” said Bucshon. “Our vote today guarantees that the government will remain open giving the American people certainty for the future and making divided government work. This bill gets government out of the way so businesses can expand and create jobs, prevents new funding for ObamaCare, and protects the privacy and security of U.S. citizens.
“We cut spending for the fourth consecutive year, a first dating back to the Korean War. These reforms get rid of government waste and fund our priorities like national defense, transportation, and education. We protect our medically retired veterans and survivor benefit plans from pension reductions, while increasing pay to those currently serving our country.
“By no means is this bill perfect, but it is certainly another step in the right direction to stop the reckless Washington spending habits that are unfair to American families. Moving forward, I remain committed to tackling the drivers of our debt and balancing our nation’s finances so that our children can have a more prosperous future.”
Highlights of the Bill:
Fiscally responsible with an overall spending reduction:
- $191 billion below President Obama’s vision for Fiscal Year 2014 in his first budget request.
- $27 billion below the level set in Paul Ryan’s original Path to Prosperity for Fiscal Year 2014.
- Passage will result in total discretionary savings of $165 billion since Fiscal Year 2010 and represents the first time since the Korean War that spending has been cut four consecutive years.
Protects our military and veterans:
- Amends the Ryan-Murray agreement to ensure that medically retired armed forces personnel and survivor benefits plan recipients receive their full pensions.
- Fully funds a 1% pay raise for the troops.
- Provides $286.9 billion and prevents the next round of sequester cuts from imperiling our military readiness and national security.
- Provides $43.6 billion to provide care for approximately 6.5 million VA patients estimated to be treated in 2014.
- Includes comprehensive initiative to reduce and end current VA disability claims backlog by 2015.
No new funding for ObamaCare:
- Holds the line on ObamaCare funding to postsequester levels– no new or additional funding in this bill for ObamaCare.
- Eliminates all funding ($10 million) for ObamaCare’s Independent Advisory Board (IPAB).
- Prevents the Secretary of HHS from siphoning off $1 billion from the Prevention and Public Health Fund (a popular slush fund) to support ObamaCare exchanges.
Protects and strengthens your security:
- Prohibits funds to acquire, store, or monitor the electronic communications of a U.S. person from a public service provider under section 501 of FISA.
- Increases funding for the FBI $232 million above Fiscal Year 2013, prioritizing counter-terrorism and cyber-security activities.
- DEA is increased by $21 million above Fiscal Year 2013 with special emphasis on prescription drug abuse and methamphetamine.
Holds government accountable:
- Includes a provision preventing any funding from being used to implement any future Fast and Furious type activity.
- Blocks a pay-raise for the Vice-President and senior political appointees.
- Government-wide prohibition on requiring businesses from having to disclose political contributions as part of the bid process for Federal contracts.
- Decreases funding for the IRS by $526 million below the Fiscal Year 2013 enacted level.
- Includes a provision prohibiting funds from being used to target groups for scrutiny based upon their political beliefs or to target citizens for exercising their 1st Amendment rights.
Strengthens our national transportation infrastructure:
- Fully funds the MAP-21 level of $41 billion for Fiscal Year 2014 for the federal highway program.
- Blocks a Senate proposal to institute a new airline passenger fee.
- Fully funds air traffic control and aviation safety operations in the FAA while reducing overall department funding by $168 million.
- Increases funding for the Army Corps of Engineers by 10% above the Fiscal year 2013 enacted level focusing these funds on projects related to navigation and flood control, public safety, job creation, and U.S. waterways.
- Provides over $1 billion for activities related to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.
Strengthens our borders and current immigration laws:
- Provides for 21,307 patrol agents and 24,800 CBP officers – the highest totals in the history of the agency to further their ability to combat illegal immigration and address issues surrounding our ports and borders.
- Includes statutory language requiring the Secretary to ensure enforcement of immigration laws and provide for a minimum daily average of 34,000 detention beds – the largest capacity ever.
- Fully funds E-verify.
- Blocks the Administration’s and Senate’s efforts to cut ICE enforcement increasing these activities by 4.5% above the request.
Holds the EPA accountable and promotes investments in energy:
- Decreases EPA funding by $143 million below the Fiscal Year 2013 enacted level. Overall EPA funding has been reduced by $2.1 billion or 20.4% since Fiscal Year 2010.
- Since Fiscal Year 2010, the EPA staffing has been reduced by 2,059 bringing staffing to the lowest levels since 1989.
- Provides additional resources to promote domestic onshore energy and minerals development.
- Strategically targets funds to ensure a balanced investment into nuclear, fossil, and renewable to improve our energy independence and fight higher energy prices.
- The bill prohibits the Department of Energy from forcing manufacturers to stop producing incandescent light bulbs.
Secures our embassies abroad and continues the Benghazi investigation:
- Boosts embassy security by providing $5.4 billion to ensure the protection of personnel and facilities - $25 million more than President Obama requested.
- Prohibits aid to Libya until the Secretary of State confirms Libyan cooperation in the Benghazi investigation.
Promotes health and disease prevention:
- Provides $6.9 billion for the Center for Disease Control.
- Provides $29.9 billion for the National Institutes of Health to support lifesaving research.
- Restores a FDA user fee revenue used to expedite the approval of life-saving drugs and medical devices that was lost due to sequestration.
Prioritizes critical research investments:
- Prioritizes National Science Foundation funding to programs that strengthen U.S. innovation and competitiveness.
Maintains protections of 2nd Amendment rights:
- Maintains all important 2nd Amendment policy provisions including prohibitions on various criteria related to the import and export of certain firearms.
