WASHINGTON- House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rep. Norm Dicks made the following comments after release of the House FY13 Subcommittee 302(b) Allocations for FY2013:

"Today, House Republicans have made public their subcommittee allocations for the FY13 fiscal year. These subcommittee numbers are based on an overall allocation that reneges on our hard fought agreement for discretionary spending in the Budget Control Act. Finding the right balance for discretionary spending – between the need for austerity and the need to invest to grow the economy – was not easy. In fact, it was considered a major accomplishment and gave many of us on the Appropriations Committee, both Republicans and Democrats, hope that we had put the worst of the budget brinkmanship behind us.

"Our economic recovery needs the certainty of a functioning budget process as well as continued investments in infrastructure, innovation and the social safety net. The Ryan Budget allocation undermines both.

"I am optimistic, however, that the current position of House Republicans is temporary and that we will eventually return to the bipartisan allocation in the Budget Control Act of $1.047T. Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader McConnell and the top Republican Appropriator, Thad Cochran, have reaffirmed their commitment to this number and the President has threatened to veto any bill that doesn't conform to the law.

"Tomorrow at full committee markup, I will encourage my Republican colleagues to reject these subcommittee allocations and return to a bipartisan process for consideration of discretionary spending."

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