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Chairman Steil's full opening statement:
Today, the Committee on House Administration will consider two separate pieces of legislation.
These bills will increase transparency with the American people, establish a location for a new Smithsonian museum, and, in consultation with my colleague the Ranking Member, we'll be pulling off the Legislative Branch Agency reform, but we're working to remedy that and come back with, what I think will be a great piece of legislation that will address some of those concerns.
First, we will consider H.R. 5891, the Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act.
This legislation prohibits Members from collecting pay during a lapse in appropriations.
Last fall, I think as everybody here recalls, we had the longest government shutdown in history.
We're now in a partial shutdown.
The Department of Homeland Security hasn't been funded since February 14th.
It's been 32 days since TSA agents have been fully and properly compensated.
This is a time during which we should be securing and protecting the Homeland.
Schumer and Democrats in the Senate are playing politics with DHS funding.
We all know the spending process in Washington is broken.
The Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act starts to fix the broken system.
This bill ensures no Members collect a paycheck while hardworking federal employees are being forced to work without pay.
I am thankful to my colleagues for their feedback on this commonsense legislation and look forward to discussing it further today.
Next, we'll consider H.R. 1329, the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum Act.
This legislation allows the Smithsonian to move forward with construction of the future museum to recognize and honor the contributions of American women.
It's all the more exciting that we're considering this legislation during our nation's 250th anniversary.
Finally, we were going to be considering H.R. 6028, the Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act, which was introduced by my colleague Morgan Griffith.
That process, in consultation with my friend, the Ranking Member Mr. Morelle, we're going to pull that legislation, work towards some amendments and adjustments, and then come back to this Committee with a final product that I think has a real opportunity to pass in a bipartisan way.
These are the types of reforms, I think, that this Committee, historically, has done a great job of - finding ways where all of us across the aisle can look and determine how we can make improvements in the operation of Legislative Branch agencies, from GPO, to the Library of Congress, including the Copyright Office.
I thank my colleagues for being here today, appreciate their engagement in all of these important pieces of legislation on both sides of the aisle and I look forward to discussing the legislation further.
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