Every year, Congress is supposed to pass twelve appropriations bills to keep the government funded for the next fiscal year. These bills start off in one of the 12 Appropriations Subcommittees, head to the full committee, and then head to the House Floor.
The Senate also has its own process, and eventually the House and Senate versions are merged into one before receiving the President’s signature.
For the past two weeks, the Appropriations Committee has been meeting to work on these 12 bills, and so far, we have voted half of them out of Committee. The process to put these bills together starts months before we begin voting on them, and this year we’ve done a lot of work to trim the fat while fully funding your priorities.
We’ve secured some major wins already that I think all Americans can be excited for and proud of.
In the Homeland Security bill, we made sure to secure our southern border by providing funding for construction of a physical wall along the border, increased money for new Border Patrol Agents, boosting border security technology, and forcing Secretary Mayorkas to follow the law.
Our Defense bill prioritizes money to counter China, ensure our servicemembers and their families have the support they need, innovates and modernizes the military, and gives the Department of Defense more of a role in stopping the flow of illegal drugs into this country.
Our Energy and Water bill provides funding for the production of critical minerals, prohibits oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from being sold to any entity owned by or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, invests in our nation’s nuclear infrastructure, and claws back nearly $6 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Our Agriculture bill supports rural communities, strengthens our national security, and prevents people or companies from China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from buying
American farmland, while reining in wasteful spending here in Washington.
These six bills also take huge steps to cut wasteful spending and ensure taxpayer dollars are being used wisely. We are strengthening Congressional oversight to ensure the Biden administration can’t use taxpayer dollars to fund their far-left policies. This includes blocking the Department of Veterans Affairs from using taxpayer dollars to perform abortions or push their woke transgender agenda.
We’re also eliminating ridiculous climate programs that do nothing but leave America and other countries more dependent on China and Russia.
We still have six more bills to pass out of Committee and all twelve still have to be passed by the full House, but I’m excited with the wins we’ve gotten so far.
I will continue doing all I can to rein in wasteful spending while keeping our nation safe and secure.
Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.
