Congressman DeSaulnier’s Statement on the Budget Vote

Washington, DC — Today, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) issued the following statement after voting in opposition to the budget agreement (H.R. 1892), which passed the House by a vote of 240-to-186.

"I cannot support giving the already bloated Department of Defense (DoD) hundreds of billions of dollars in additional funds when $8.5 trillion previously given to the DoD was unaccounted for, $125 billion in wasteful spending was buried, and just this week it was reported that the agency lost track of $800 million more, and the DoD has never had a complete audit. Taxpayer dollars should be spent in a transparent, efficient manner and reflect the priorities and needs of working families.

"This 652 page major piece of legislation had no hearings, no non-partisan analysis, and could not be read by most Members.

"I am also concerned that this so-called deal did not include a commitment from Republican Leadership to bring a bipartisan immigration bill to be debated and voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives, so there would be an open debate and Democrats and Republicans would vote, and be held to account for their votes, by the American people. The ‘People's House' needs to return to an open and functioning democratic institution."

Congressman DeSaulnier is the author of the Department of Defense Waste Reduction Act (H.R. 2367) to prevent DoD from receiving any additional funding until wasteful practices within the Department are addressed. He also called for congressional hearings to investigate DoD's spending practices, and supports the 2017 DoD audit.