ms. granger: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of this six-bill appropriation package. i'm glad we are here to consider full-year bills and i want to thank everyone who parti this p. with the odds stacked against us, house republicans made the government. we drafted the most conservative bills in history. members amendments, we considered house bills individually on the floor. and we avoided a massive omnibus measure. in total, we increased defense

funding targeted cuts. we also made -- maintained our le colleagues on the other side of the aisle -- want to remove. this bill honors our commitment to our veterans, strengthens our energy security, holds agencies accountable, supports our farmers and ranchers and makes our transportation system safer. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the 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 that i must rise in opposition to the 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 try and find consensus. there are many good things in this bill, things tt will benefit everyday americans. but as ranking member of the house veterans' affairs committee, this bill comes at the expense of our most 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 a time? ms. granger: three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. >> i thank the chairlady for 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 theaf s well-being of the american people. after tough but fai negotiations, we've produced a strong bill that prioritizes everyday americans while right-sizing the bureaucracy. make no mistake, mr. chairman, many agencies with important missions face reductions under

this legislation. we it's important to reverse the out-of-control growth of the federal ger in ths 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 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 andhe overreach of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. to that end, f.b.i. and a.t.f. will be 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 justice from targeting parents who exercise their right to free speech at local school board meetings. the other prohibits the department of justice from investigating churches on the basis of their religious beliefs.

the bill supports local law enforcement by including critical 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 twoinutes. mr. rogers: this will empower our local police departments to ensure they have the resources they need to safeguard ourrhoods. law enforcement plays an important role in the well-being of every american in every congressional district. passage of this bill today sends a strong message, we have their backs. in closing, i 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 twright. he's been a valued partner and colleague in this effort. i also 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 a win for the american people. so i urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman from kentucky yields back. the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from connecticu 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 programs which curb the rising cost of living, that creates high p jobs, that confronts the climate crisis. it honors our commitments to the women's righ. 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 following 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 investments and infrastructure and creates jobs. rail and transiting for

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 have everything either side 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 protect middle class families. it helps americans contend with an cost of living. this bill flights inflation and supports key lifelines such as food assistance and ensuring people in this

great country ofo not go hungry. i urge swift passage of this package and look forward to finalizing and passing the funding bills in due time. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: t the gentleman from california reserves. the gentlelady from texas is recognized. ms. granger: i yield to the ranking member from idaho, mr. simpson, for four minutes. the speapr mr. simpson: i rise in support of the appropriations act for 2024. i'd like to commend chairwoman granger for her leadership of the appropriations committee and to getting the first six bills across the finish line. i'd like to thank the ranking member subcommittee member

pingree for her part on this bill. we reached a compromise to stop the government shutdownnd maintains our lands and needs. it provides nondefense top line resources totaling $38.9 billion, nearly 4% below the fy-2023 level. cutting funding is never easy but with the national debt in excess of $34 trillion, we make tough choices in this bill to rein in federal spending. last congress alone, $3 trillion was spent outside the normal appropriation process. that's $3 trillion additional dollars. as i have sai 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 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 across indian country. and for the indian health services, the bill continues advanced appropriations totaling $5.2 billion. that's a program, the advanced appropriation that was started by ranking member pingree when she was chairman of this committee, and we've continued 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 tax that would be -- would come from those lands if they were held in private

lands. so this is vitally important to public land states. it's not enough. but we've fully funded it in thislso provides an additional $260 million to maintain wild land firefighter pay without irresponsible budget gimmicks. in the bill maintains long-standing legacy riders to prevent the s.a. listing of sage grouse and prevent livestock producers from burdensome greenhouse gas permitting requirements. the bill bolsters our energy independence by domestic production of critical and rare earth minerals and rejects administration proposals to increase offshore energy inspection fees and authorize onshore inspection fees. and for my constituents in idaho, i'm especially pleased the bill blocks the lava ridge wind project until the interior secretary 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 on this bill. it is hard to reduce spending but yet we've been able to do that. and i'd like to congratulate the staff on both sides of the aisle. while we were home they were working on this bill all night long. i'd like to 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 vote yes on this piece of legislation and i yield back my time.speaker pro t he gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. takano: i yield two the

gentlewoman from ohio, the ranking 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 that ushers in new horizons for jobs and progress for our region and nation. our bil assures investments in modernized energy production vital water infrastructu 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 reclamation, and regional commissions and authorities impacting every corner of our nation, including the appalachian, delta, denali, northern border, southeast crescent, southwest border, and the great region.

u.s. energy independence in perpetuity is our consistent, paramount, strategic goal. each year our nation makes significant progress towards it. this bill ensures our 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 president donald trump's appeasing reaction, this bill is needed as an affirmation of american will to protect and defend o people and ensure our nation's security posture against all enemies. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan bill and our ab, charles fleischmann, for his dutiful and responsible duty to our nation. i yield back. the speaker o teore: t he gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentlelady from texas is recognized. 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. mr. cole: i thank you and yielding. i want to thank the speaker of this house. this deal would not have come together without his leadership and support. want to thank chair granger and ranking member delauro for their work and leadership for putting a package together that can get across this floor in a bipais,■< manner. i would be remiss not to thank my negotiating counterparts, ranking member quigley senator shots and ranking member smith on the other side of the rotunda and were 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 hard on safety first, safety for people flying, safety for people that are traveling by rail, safety for men and women on the■r highways. and we met the requirement there and fully funded all 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 and for infrastructure programs and simulators to make sure they get the most up to date training we possib c them. so that was a real accomplishment and marries up very nicely with the f.a.a. re-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 indian road 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 o■gf thi 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 tempore: 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 medical device -- medicine and medical devices. this bill■u helps prevent hunge, fully funds snap, as well as w.i.c. the bill is free from almost all of the extreme policy riders in the previous version■

sustainable and resilient. it protects small, medium poultry producers and promotes industry competition to reduce the costf 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 clor bill's not the best, it brings us closer than the earlier versions to meeting the essential needs of the american people. i want to commend president biden, the bipartisan leadership and the staff of the house and senate appropriations committees and i urge my colleagues to support the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california reserves. mr. takano: mr. speaker, i yield -- the speaker pro t 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 water 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 ensure the bill includes many house republican priorities. out o 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 the -- deterrent, the bill funds the national security nuclear administration

and increases it almost $2 billion above fiscal year 2023. specifically, the bill fullyor d infrastructure modernization activities, including the w-93 warhead, the nuc is a variant of the b-61 gravity bomb, and the restart of plutonium p capability. ing on the nondefense -- on the nondefense side of the bill, i was very pleased to be able to secure increases for the funding for the deptm of energy office of science, including fusion energy science. this funding will enhance america's role as the global leader of scientific discovery and lay the foundation for future scientific breakthroughs. the programs funded in the energy and bill also help improve our nation's energy security. to reduce our reliance on foreign sources of critical materials, the bill strong support for the full

spectrum of production technologies. remaining the leader in nuclear technologies will at home and will help allies across the globe. the bill sentence the department of energy's nuclear energy base program and also redirects previously appropriated funds to higher priorities. specifically $2.8 billion to develop a domestic capability from producing low enriched uranium, including low enriched uranium that will be necessary for upcoming advanced reactors and $910 million to s 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 efforts of our colleagues across

the 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 office, daniel and ian. and on the minority side, adam. this is a strong bill for america, with many house republican priorities. i urge my colleagues to vote yes. mr. speaker, iie back. the speaker pro tempore: 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 budgett. dedicated resiliency in pfas remediation funding. we held strong on our commitment to veterans by providing $121 billion for v.a. medical care, increased and protected funding for gender-specific care for women, and blocked republican 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. they built a in ins but that lowers costs, creates jobs and fortifies america's energy independence with cutting edge climate research. in other parts of this bill, i'm proud we fully fund everglades restoration at the president's budget request of $415 million. president biden has delivered time and time again for florida's environment and everglades restoration specifically. this funding allows restoration projects like the e.a.a.

reservoir to continue to move 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 more than $15 million in local projects 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 human trafficking cases. i was able to secure support for local reef preservation, genetic disease research, water, sewer and drainage upgrades, as well as help fix nagging local infrastructure repairs that my constituents navigate e reasonsy colleagues to support this minibus and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: texas s recognized. ms. granger: mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my 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.. pingy 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 ap act. i particularly want to thank ranking member delauro for her leadership and perseverance in working on this. and i also want and the committn the committee, chairman simpson, who is a pleasure to work with and i appreciate your 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 made 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 pleased that this bill continues our investments to

care for our planet, to fight the climate emergency, and meet our trust obligat nations. this bill rejects the $13 billion in devastating cuts imposed in the house republican bill originally and does not mon 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 infrastructure investment and jobs act pay supplement for wildland firefighters. the bill also protects arts and humanities, maintaining the enacted funding level for the national endowment for the arts, and the national endowment for humanities, supporting arts in communities across this country. and finally, this bill supports native american families by■2 ad resilient indian country. including through education and health care programs. these are important investments to all americans aeagues to sup. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: i reserve, mr. speaker. the speaker prtempore:leman froa reserves. the gentlelady from texas. ms. granger: mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: mr. yield three minutes to the distinguished gentleman from pennsylvania, the ranking member of the commerce, justice and■l 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 investments. for example, the manufacturing extension partnership program, a level funded at $175 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 to hand out.

we have incredibly hardworking staff. bo bonner, shannon mcculley, faye, nora spent countless,w■[ sleepless nights working on this enormous project for this bill. and we can't leave out chris bigelow, rakell spencer,p adam wilson, jason gray. these people have been indispensable in putting together this monumental piece i'm thankful for the very hard work of chair kay granger and chairman hallucinate rogers, --n commerce, justice and science. also for the members of my subcommittee on the democratic side, grace meng of new 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 hard work put in by ranking member delauro and especially

for our leader, hakeem jeffries. 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 grants. 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 bill provides $13 million in increase for programs under the violence against act, continued level funding for grants under the community violence intervention and prevention programs. the stop school violence act and the victims of child grants. it's level funding for

correctional officers and the bureau of prisons is so important and it provides a solid incas 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 weon't enforce our anti-trust laws. i'm also proud that we secured continued level funding for the legal services corporaon. in summary, the c.j.s. appropriations agreement represents a solid effort to preserve these priorities and i embers to support it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. takano: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlela 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 texas, chip 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 o. last year republicans were presented with a bill that was supposed to cap spending at $1.59 trillion. now we have legislation that will do no such thing. republicans will go around and they'll talk about how they scored major wins.or the american people. the fact of the matter is, we did no such thing. we signed up for caps at $1.59 we could have had $1.56 trillion if we would have passed 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 around and say that they somehow delivered cuts

by saying -- saying $24 bff of t one member of this body could come down to the floor and explain. and i would take that&v challenge. if any member could explain to the 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 buildi they're going toy 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. allse measures are not in the bill. i rise in opposition to this legislation. i hope my republican

colleagues will oppose it. we deserve to deliver for the american people the way we said we would to cut spending and secure the border of the united 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. granr: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. ta 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 surehe confident to use those benefits and not taken advantage of. if a veteran is determined to be medically incompetent they're■w appointed a fiduciary and referred to the criminal

background checks system knn as the nix list. medical incompetent tensey is based on schizophrenia and dementia and serious health conditions. and there are very serious reasons why people with those conditions should not be able to purchase a thatrm. firearms are used in 68% of veterans' deaths by suicide. suicide is a serious problem among veterans and since i've had the honor to be on the veterans' affairs committee, i fought ton suicide. why on earth would this congress cede one more important safeguard 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 legislation in 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 the normal process, the regular order. instead they crammed ithis musts bill, the backdoor of a spending bill. they abandoned all their other so-called priorities because they wanted this so badly.■+ they wanted so badly to make sure that vulnerable veterans could access more firearms. this is wrong. lives are on the line. veterans lives are on the line. i will not agree to legislation that will cause more people's lives t to gun violence. house democrats have been working to put people over politics, but it is clear that the republican majority is content to put politics over veterans. including prioritizing politics over veterans lives.

i ask unanimous consent that the statent 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. 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 bill, and i don't ask my colleagues to join me in opposing this bill. i have a greea my good friend, the ranking member of the appropriations committee, ms. delauro, and the significainto this. but i must follow 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 texas. ms. granger:

mr. speaker, i urge my this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentlelady from texas yields back her time. the gentleman from california. mr. takano:ur speakers and am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: t he gentleman is recognized. mr. takano: i sadly must oppose the bill but