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Kustoff Speaks on House Floor to Highlight Broken Rules Process

June 19, 2019

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Congressman David Kustoff (TN-08), spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to express his frustration with the way Democrats on the House Rules Committee are cutting out Republican members from the Appropriations Process.

The Democrat majority in the House Rules Committee chose to leave out the Congressman's bipartisan amendment that would increase funding for Tennessee to eradicate Asian Carp. Congressman Kustoff's bipartisan amendment was backed by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation and included an additional $4.4 million for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to eradicate Asian Carp from the Tennessee River Sub-basin.

To watch the full speech, click here.

Full Remarks:

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today to express my profound frustration with the majority on the Rules Committee. I'm disappointed that the majority has chosen to cut members out of the process.

I worked with colleagues across the aisle to introduce a bipartisan amendment to address the epidemic of Asian carp infestation in the Mississippi River and its tributaries. This invasive species has invaded the Tennessee and Cumberland river basins and continues to threaten our rural economies and native fisheries that thrive off of the recreational and sporting industries.

Without a doubt, it's a major problem in my home state of Tennessee as well as Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi. If these states continue to get cut out of the process, the problem will only get worse.

I want to thank members from both sides of the aisle who fought hard for this amendment only to have it thrown out at the last minute. We deserve the opportunity to have the concerns of our constituents heard and addressed. But unfortunately, the process is broken.

I want to thank the gentleman for yielding time and with that I yield back.