mr. visclosky, he is the ranking member of the defense subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. visclosky: i thank the ranking member for yielding time, and i want to begin my remarks by expressing my great appreciation to chairman rogers and ranking member lowey. the fact that we're standing here today on the verge of passing a 12-bill omnibus measure is a testament to their acumen as legislators. further, i would be remiss if i did not thank every staff member of the appropriations committee for their dedication, hard work and sound judgment in helping develop this package. with regard to the defense portion of the bill, it was a pleasure to work with chairman frelinghuysen in crafting a bipartisan and collaborative piece of legislation. he and his staff have ensured that the defense subcommittee continues its long-standing tradition of collegiality. the agreement that we're here for today implements the bipartisan budget act. as a result, substantial reductions were made to the department o

mr. visclosky, he is the ranking member of the defense subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. visclosky: i thank the ranking member for yielding time, and i want to begin my remarks by expressing my great appreciation to chairman rogers and ranking member lowey. the fact that we're standing here today on the verge of passing a 12-bill omnibus measure is a testament to their acumen as legislators. further, i would be remiss if i did not thank every staff member of the appropriations committee for their dedication, hard work and sound judgment in helping develop this package. with regard to the defense portion of the bill, it was a pleasure to work with chairman frelinghuysen in crafting a bipartisan and collaborative piece of legislation. he and his staff have ensured that the defense subcommittee continues its long-standing tradition of collegiality. the agreement that we're here for today implements the bipartisan budget act. as a result, substantial reductions were made to the department o