Congresswoman Kaptur Excoriates Congress For Dysfunctional Appropriations Process
September 17, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 16, 2014) – Congresswoman Kaptur took to the House floor today to criticize the lack of leadership in the House of Representatives and the dysfunction surrounding the annual appropriations process.
Kaptur, ranking member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee, said the House of Representatives is hurting job growth and the economic recovery with its indecisiveness.
"Once again this house is scrambling to pass another continuing resolution," Kaptur said. "This is a classic definition of dysfunction, kicking the can down the road, shirking our responsibility to address the priorities of our nation through clear 2015 departmental funding levels and decisiveness."
Instead, she said, "We get the reverse of that. (We get) uncertainty. It hurts job growth. It hurts economic recovery. We must reverse this regression and inertia. Congress must make the difficult choices that allow our republic to function with certainty and dispatch again."
Kaptur said the the Energy and Water subcommittee "took great strides" by passing a bill to create jobs, "support science activities necessary for American competitiveness and economic growth, (and) fund work on critical national defense priorities, nuclear non-proliferation and our cleanup efforts. Unfortunately, this continuing resolution stalls that work."
Kaptur said she holds out hope that the short-term continuing resolution "provides the necessary time to pass full-year measures so that Congress measures up to what the American people expect of us and that is to do our job."
She said funding levels for Fiscal Year 2015 "should match real reality, not political stunts six weeks before election."
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Kaptur, ranking member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee, said the House of Representatives is hurting job growth and the economic recovery with its indecisiveness.
"Once again this house is scrambling to pass another continuing resolution," Kaptur said. "This is a classic definition of dysfunction, kicking the can down the road, shirking our responsibility to address the priorities of our nation through clear 2015 departmental funding levels and decisiveness."
Instead, she said, "We get the reverse of that. (We get) uncertainty. It hurts job growth. It hurts economic recovery. We must reverse this regression and inertia. Congress must make the difficult choices that allow our republic to function with certainty and dispatch again."
Kaptur said the the Energy and Water subcommittee "took great strides" by passing a bill to create jobs, "support science activities necessary for American competitiveness and economic growth, (and) fund work on critical national defense priorities, nuclear non-proliferation and our cleanup efforts. Unfortunately, this continuing resolution stalls that work."
Kaptur said she holds out hope that the short-term continuing resolution "provides the necessary time to pass full-year measures so that Congress measures up to what the American people expect of us and that is to do our job."
She said funding levels for Fiscal Year 2015 "should match real reality, not political stunts six weeks before election."
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