"Good afternoon, the Committee is meeting today to approve its subcommittee allocations and to mark up the subcommittee recommendations on three appropriations bills for fiscal year 2012: Agriculture, Energy-Water, and Homeland Security.  Subcommittee members reviewed and approved the recommendations on these bills prior to today's meeting. 
   
"At the outset let me express my gratitude to the managers of our subcommittees and their staffs for drafting these bills during the August recess.  As all members know, the Committee was delayed in beginning its mark-up process this year because of the difficulty in reaching an agreed upon 302 allocation for the Committee.  While passage of the debt ceiling measure on August 2 finally cleared the way for the Committee to begin its work, unfortunately, the delay has added to the difficulty of our task. 
 
"The Senate will only be in session for three weeks before the fiscal year concludes.  It is for that reason and with the concurrence of the Vice Chairman that I directed that we hold these markups as soon as possible after the Senate returned to session.  I thank all members for understanding both in preparing these bills and in allowing us to proceed swiftly. 

"The first order of business today is to approve the subcommittee allocations, dividing up the overall allocation of $1.043 trillion in discretionary spending.  Our Subcommittee managers have received their respective recommended allocations and are in the process of preparing bills in compliance with these levels.  Each subcommittee has been cut dramatically below the amount sought by the administration.  These cuts are real and are difficult to implement, but that is the will of the Congress and the charter of this Committee.

"In total, the allocation is $6.8 billion below the level approved for fiscal year 2011 and $79.2 billion below the President's request.   Together with the funding reductions approved for fiscal year 2011, the Congress has cut the Administration's request for these two years by more than $157 billion.  This makes our funding recommendations the largest reduction by Congress of any President's requests in history over this two year period.
 
"My colleagues on this Committee recognize that these cuts are not easy.  Valuable programs have been curtailed to live within these lower levels.  Furthermore, we all understand that the debt ceiling bill also requires this Committee to cut an additional $1.2 trillion in funding over the next ten years when compared to the CBO baseline.  So our work is just beginning.

"It should be clear to all observers that this Committee has done and will continue to do its part in the fight against deficits.  At this point others need to step up to the plate now and offer additional ways to get our budget into balance.  

"I would also like to call attention to funding for disaster relief which will be added in each of the three bills to be considered today.  Under the Debt Ceiling Act, the Committee was provided the authority to include up to $11.3 billion for disaster relief without offset. 

"Our subcommittees marking up today have reviewed the known requirements caused by tornadoes, floods, and other disasters and will recommend that a total of $5.5 billion be allocated under the debt ceiling authority for disaster relief.  The total that is being recommended is less than half the amount set aside for disasters and is consistent with the validated estimates from FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Agriculture for costs above amounts budgeted. 

"We recognize that additional funds may be required to cover damages which have not yet been estimated based on recent flooding in the Midwest, the Northeast, and the South.  Accordingly, the amounts could be adjusted as the affected bills continue to move through the legislative process if and when additional cost estimates are confirmed.  We believe this is the most fiscally responsible way to proceed at this juncture.  
 
"Today, it is the responsibility of this Committee to take the next step in our review process.  I urge all of you to support the allocation that the Vice Chairman and I worked on together and thank you in advance for all the hard work that will be required in preparing all of our appropriations bills in the coming weeks."