The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“CONTINUING RESOLUTION” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S1831-S1833 on Feb. 12, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CONTINUING RESOLUTION
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come to the Senate to talk about my strong support of the House Joint Resolution 20 that is the joint funding resolution for the current fiscal year we are considering this week.
I am very concerned because we are fast approaching the wire on getting this important resolution passed. If we don't pass this bipartisan bill, the safety of American citizens could be put in danger. If this bill is not passed this week, our air traffic controllers will be furloughed. Our air safety inspectors will be furloughed. It we don't pass this bipartisan bill in the next several days, we are going to see a decline in our ability to provide railroad inspections, pipeline safety inspections, and truck safety inspections.
As chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing on Appropriations, I am very concerned. I am here to talk about some of the consequences if we don't get our work done on the CR this week. We are going to be feeling the consequences in the area of housing. If we don't pass this bill, hundreds of thousands of Americans are going to face a housing crisis.
Mr. President, 157,000 low-income people could lose their housing if we don't get this bill passed in the next several days; 70,000 could lose their housing vouchers; 11,500 units that are housing the homeless could be lost. Those are some of the consequences Americans will face under my jurisdiction if this Congress fails to pass the joint funding resolution in the next few days.
But don't take my word for it. Last Thursday, I held a hearing with President Bush's very able Secretary of Transportation, Mary Peters. Secretary Peters is not a newcomer to transportation. She has spent her entire career working to ensure safety and execute infrastructure projects, largely in her home State of Arizona, but she also served as the Federal Highway Administrator.
Secretary Peters told us last week, in very clear terms, how safety would be affected if we failed to pass this joint funding resolution. I share her exact words from a few days ago. Secretary Peters told the Senate:
[I]f we were funded at the '06 levels . . . it would have drastic consequences, not only at the FAA, but as you mentioned with our other safety programs, such as our rail safety programs, our truck inspection programs and of course the air traffic controllers and inspectors at maintenance facilities for the aviation community.
The Bush administration's Transportation Secretary is warning of drastic consequences if we fail to pass this continuing resolution. I am here tonight to talk about some of those consequences. I asked Secretary Peters what it would mean for safety and what it would mean for hiring if Congress doesn't pass this joint funding resolution. President Bush's Secretary of Transportation said:
[W]e will see a serious decline in the number of safety inspectors: Truck safety inspectors, rail safety inspectors, aviation inspectors across the broad range in our program.
That is directly from the President's Transportation Secretary.
I don't think any Senator wants to be responsible for voting for a serious decline in the number of truck safety inspectors, rail safety inspectors or aviation space. I don't think Members want to explain to our constituents we voted to undermine their safety as they travel by car, train or plane. Let me be clear: No one can say Members didn't know how your vote would hurt a State because we have very clear warnings from the Transportation Secretary herself.
The first reason we need to pass this joint funding resolution is to keep our critical safety inspectors on the job, protecting the American people, as they are doing today. We also need to pass a joint funding resolution because, without it, States will not be able to address their most pressing highway, bridge, and road problems. In fact, Secretary Peters also warned us that some States could miss an entire construction season if Congress does not enact this bill.
She said that State transportation commissioners need to know how money will be available to them this year. So she said to us last week at the hearing:
It is especially important to those states who have a construction season that will be upon us very, very shortly and if they are not able to know that this funding is coming and be able to let contracts, accordingly, we could easily miss an entire construction season.
That is what this joint funding resolution is about. Let me be very clear. Your constituents, my constituents, all of our constituents will feel the impact of our vote on roads that are not fixed or roads that remain clogged or congested or unsafe.
Those are a few of the safety consequences if we fail to pass the bipartisan joint funding resolution in the next several days. The failure to pass H.J. Res. 20 will also have a painful impact on housing for hundreds of thousands of Americans. In this bipartisan bill, we worked very hard to make sure vulnerable families would not be thrown on the streets or face out-of-reach rent increases.
We provided some critical support for section 8, homeless assistance grants, housing equity conversion loans, HOPE VI, and the Public Housing Operating Fund.
For Section 8 project-based assistance, this spending resolution we will be considering this week provides an increase of $939 million over last year's fiscal year 2006 level. It provides $300 million over the President's 2007 budget request. This is essential, I want my colleagues to know, to preserve affordable housing for 157,000 low-
income households. Without this increase, without us acting in the next several days, many of these low-income residents are going to become homeless or be displaced or face unaffordable rent increases.
For section 8 tenant-based assistance, this spending resolution provides an increase of $502 million, equal to the President's 2007 budget request, to continue to renew expiring vouchers. Without this increase, without us acting in the next several days, more than 70,000 housing vouchers are going to be lost. That means residents may become homeless or displaced or forced into overcrowded housing.
For homeless assistance grants, this funding resolution we are considering provides an increase of $115 million to meet expiring contracts for homeless individuals and their families. Without this increase, without us acting in the next several days, as many as 11,500 units will not be renewed--not be renewed--forcing these homeless individuals and families back onto the street.
The joint resolution also helps thousands of seniors to stay in their homes because it supports the housing equity conversion loans. Currently, 90 percent of all reverse mortgages for the elderly fall under this guarantee program. Without this language, this popular program will shut down, and it will hurt the ability of thousands of elderly individuals and couples to remain in their homes and pay for critical living expenses.
The joint resolution we are considering this week also extends the authorization for the HOPE VI Program, which is helping us across the country knock down the most deteriorated public housing units and replace them with new, safe housing units for families. If this funding resolution is not adopted this week, not a single dollar will go out for this popular program for the rest of this year.
Finally, this resolution will help housing authorities meet their soaring expenses. This resolution supports the Public Housing Operating Fund. It provides an increase of $300 million over the 2006 level to meet the tremendous shortfalls being faced by our public housing authorities when it comes to meeting things such as increased energy costs and providing necessary security to help them prevent crime. Recently, more than 700 public housing authorities have announced layoffs. According to HUD, without this increase--without this resolution--public housing authorities will receive only 76 percent of their true operating needs in this fiscal year. So the consequences will be severe for very vulnerable families if this Congress fails to pass the joint funding resolution by this Thursday.
Mr. President, I want to step back for a minute and share how we developed this bipartisan bill we are considering and how we worked to make sure those critical needs are met.
Today, every agency in the Federal Government, with the exception of the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, are operating under what is called a continuing resolution. That freezes almost every Federal program at last year's level. If a program is not frozen at last year's level, it is operating at a level consistent with the cuts that were adopted by the House of Representatives last year. So at present, almost all of our Federal agencies are operating under a funding formula that makes no accommodations for the true needs of our agencies or the true needs of the American people. What that means is we are not addressing critical education needs, health care needs, the needs of our veterans, the needs of law enforcement, transportation, housing--you name it.
The current continuing resolution expires this Thursday, February 15. The time has now come for us in this Congress to finally stand up to our responsibility and implement a spending bill that will meet the needs of the American people. And that bill will be in front of us this week. It is H.J. Res. 20. That bill passed the House of Representatives by more than a 2-to-1 margin. The time has now come for us in the Senate to finally fulfill our responsibility.
H.J. Res. 20 was developed by both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees on a bipartisan basis. The joint funding resolution, for the most part, freezes programs across the Government at their 2006 funding level. Importantly, however, the bill also makes necessary funding adjustments to deal with critical programs that cannot and should not endure a funding freeze.
In the case of the Transportation Department, we were not about to ignore our responsibility to ensure safety in our skies or on our highways or on our railways. This bill provides funding increases totaling more than a quarter billion dollars to ensure there are adequate numbers of personnel to control air traffic--control air traffic, critical to all of the American flying public. It also provides funds to make sure we inspect and enforce safety rules governing our commercial airliners, trucks, railroads, and pipelines. Without this additional funding--if we do not pass the CR this week--
the FAA Administrator told us that she would be required to put every air traffic controller and every aviation inspector on the street for 2 weeks without pay between now and the end of September.
The joint funding resolution before us this week also boosts funding for Amtrak to $1.3 billion. Operating under the current continuing resolution, Amtrak's funding would remain $200 million lower than it was last year. If we do not pass this funding resolution which is before us, we will endanger our passenger rail service across the country, as well as the annual maintenance expenses that must be made to ensure safe operations in the Northeast corridor.
Finally, the bill pending before the Senate provides an additional
$3.75 billion in formula funding for our Nation's highway and transit systems. That funding will serve to create almost 160,000 new jobs while alleviating congestion. It is an important infusion of cash to our States to help them address their most pressing bridge replacements, highway widenings, and safety enhancements. When you look at all the highway needs across just my home State of Washington, that additional $71 million our State will receive is urgently needed and will be put to work right away.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a table provided to me by the Federal Highway Administration that displays the highway funding increases that will be enjoyed by each and every State be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
COMPARISON OF ACTUAL FY 2006 OBLIGATION LIMITATION AND ESTIMATED FY 2007 OBLIGATION LIMITATION INCLUDING REVENUE
ALIGNED BUDGET AUTHORITY
(Including takedowns for NHTSA Operations and Research)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTUAL FY 2006
STATE OBLIGATION ESTIMATED FY DELTA
LIMITATION 2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALABAMA................................................ 535,056,170 600,869,788 65,813,618
ALASKA................................................. 228,288,252 270,731,918 42,443,666
ARIZONA................................................ 499,506,758 593,277,405 93,770,647
ARKANSAS............................................... 330,837,555 381,949,909 51,112,354
CALIFORNIA............................................. 2,381,267,388 2,680,526,468 299,259,080
COLORADO............................................... 338,198,419 400,663,892 62,465,473
CONNECTICUT............................................ 376,937,736 402,325,874 25,388,138
DELAWARE............................................... 104,178,113 121,131,724 16,953,611
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA................................... 112,407,878 123,804,359 11,396,481
FLORIDA................................................ 1,289,559,918 1,544,927,499 255,367,581
GEORGIA................................................ 940,654,903 1,067,010,791 126,355,888
HAWAII................................................. 120,644,520 127,596,268 6,951,748
IDAHO.................................................. 197,536,278 222,829,360 25,293,082
ILLINOIS............................................... 898,006,320 1,010,811,302 112,804,982
INDIANA................................................ 661,150,145 775,353,318 114,203,173
IOWA................................................... 288,499,793 330,589,700 42,089,907
KANSAS................................................. 292,376,091 309,772,956 17,396,865
KENTUCKY............................................... 460,544,276 520,949,132 60,404,856
LOUISIANA.............................................. 404,683,450 474,862,364 70,178,914
MAINE.................................................. 128,192,073 136,355,671 8,163,598
MARYLAND............................................... 418,246,584 490,032,577 71,785,993
MASSACHUSETTS.......................................... 466,003,994 501,926,732 35,922,738
MICHIGAN............................................... 828,533,266 909,761,902 81,228,636
MINNESOTA.............................................. 425,664,013 485,442,279 59,778,266
MISSISSIPPI............................................ 310,973,491 367,059,847 56,086,356
MISSOURI............................................... 618,465,606 711,268,494 92,802,888
MONTANA................................................ 255,215,718 287,386,573 32,170,855
NEBRASKA............................................... 197,252,237 223,867,736 26,615,499
NEVADA................................................. 172,076,917 210,350,302 38,273,385
NEW HAMPSHIRE.......................................... 130,407,725 137,769,576 7,361,851
NEW JERSEY............................................. 695,744,922 822,265,394 126,520,472
NEW MEXICO............................................. 250,952,902 290,194,749 39,241,847
NEW YORK............................................... 1,292,715,319 1,366,155,757 73,440,438
NORTH CAROLINA......................................... 755,312,308 872,183,722 116,871,414
NORTH DAKOTA........................................... 166,994,190 189,098,718 22,104,528
OHIO................................................... 951,965,833 1,109,710,100 157,744,267
OKLAHOMA............................................... 413,931,430 459,904,524 45,973,094
OREGON................................................. 299,292,210 347,410,836 48,118,626
PENNSYLVANIA........................................... 1,287,067,418 1,357,719,130 70,651,712
RHODE ISLAND........................................... 134,484,666 154,154,462 19,669,796
SOUTH CAROLINA......................................... 424,589,865 511,384,433 86,794,568
SOUTH DAKOTA........................................... 174,696,675 202,845,805 28,149,130
TENNESSEE.............................................. 572,103,666 672,761,834 100,658,168
TEXAS.................................................. 2,183,334,526 2,574,558,747 391,224,221
UTAH................................................... 190,146,092 220,645,255 30,499,163
VERMONT................................................ 115,678,528 129,379,891 13,701,363
VIRGINIA............................................... 697,407,933 830,852,486 133,444,553
WASHINGTON............................................. 448,545,807 519,595,013 71,049,206
WEST VIRGINIA.......................................... 285,867,458 325,592,845 39,725,387
WISCONSIN.............................................. 520,781,728 586,036,437 65,254,709
WYOMING................................................ 174,357,693 207,256,184 32,898,491
--------------------------------------------------------
SUBTOTAL........................................... 26,447,336,756 30,170,912,038 3,723,575,282
--------------------------------------------------------
ALLOCATED PROGRAMS..................................... 9,103,451,278 8,794,320,215 -309,131,063
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL.............................................. 35,550,788,034 38,965,232,253 3,414,444,219
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMOUNTS INCLUDE FORMULA LIMITATION, SPECIAL LIMITATION FOR EQUITY BONUS AND APPALACHIA DEVELOPMENT HIGHWAY
SYSTEM. AMOUNTS EXCLUDE EXEMPT EQUITY BONUS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF.
ALLOCATED PROGRAMS AMOUNT REFLECT NHTSA TRANSFER OF $121M.
Mrs. MURRAY. I understand some of our colleagues have apparently suggested we should not adopt this new joint funding resolution. Instead, they have advocated we simply just extend the current existing CR for the remainder of this year. Well, they are saying we should forgo these desperately needed funds for our highways and transit. They are saying we should allow the FAA to furlough all its safety personnel for 2 weeks. They are saying we should allow our aviation, truck, railroad, and pipeline inspection workforce to dwindle.
If we want to keep our air traffic controllers on the job, we have to pass this bill. If we want to keep our air safety inspectors on the job, we need to pass this bill. If we want to keep highway, pipeline, and truck inspections on track, we need to pass this bill. If we want to help our States address their most urgent bridge, road, and highway problems, we have to pass this bill. And if we want to keep our vulnerable families from losing their housing, we have to pass this bill.
The consequences are very high. That is why I came to the floor this evening, to outline to my colleagues, under just my jurisdiction, on the transportation and housing bill, how important this joint funding resolution is and to urge my colleagues to help us move it through this week by the Thursday deadline.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Stabenow). The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, am I correct, I was scheduled to speak next?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct. Under the previous order, a Republican Senator, the Senator from New Mexico, is now recognized for 10 minutes.
Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I want to ask, does the Senator want to speak for a short time?
Mrs. McCASKILL. Go ahead.
Mr. DOMENICI. The Senator does not mind listening. I thank her so much. I would have yielded, if she had a short speech.
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that whatever time I had be extended, if necessary, to 15 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
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