[Page H5090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      STOP BUSTING THE BUDGET CAP

  (Mr. SPANO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SPANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the 
appropriations minibus that we will be voting on this afternoon.
  Like the first appropriations package, this legislation is being 
considered without reaching a budget agreement, and it would bust the 
budget caps by over $350 billion in fiscal years `20 and `21.
  Not only is the majority spending out of control on programs we 
currently have, but they are creating new programs in these bills. This 
circumvents the authorization process and compounds the debt problem.
  Last week, I submitted an amendment to eliminate funding for one of 
these new pilot programs that would use Americans' hard-earned tax 
dollars to provide legal representation to those arriving at our 
southern border. My amendment would have reallocated that funding to 
assist victims of human trafficking and address school violence, both 
issues growing at the local level in our communities.
  Unfortunately, Democrats on the Rules Committee voted along party 
lines to prevent my amendment from coming to the floor. I call on 
Democrat leadership to stop silencing commonsense proposals and let us 
debate those tough issues. It is what we were elected to do.

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