Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am pleased that we are beginning consideration of HR 4745, the FY 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.
I want to thanking Chairman Latham for his work on this bill. He has been a good friend and great Chairman over these last few years and I have enjoyed working with him.
I also want to thank the staff on the majority and minority side. They have worked well together over these last few months.
On paper, this bill appears to be nearly $1.2 billion higher than the FY 2014 enacted level.
However, the sharp differences between OMB and CBO on the receipt estimates for the FHA loan program mean that this bill is actually $1.8 billionlower than the FY 2014 bill.
As a result, many programs are frozen at last year’s level. Deeper cuts were made to Amtrak, grants for new transit systems, HUD’s HOME program and HUD’s program to reduce the hazards of lead and other household toxins.
On a positive note, the bill addresses many of the important safety functions of the Department of Transportation.
For example, the bill provides strong funding for the programs and activities of the Federal Aviation Administration. It will allow the FAA to continue to hire and train new controllers that were lost due to sequestration.
The bill also ensures that FAA will be able to continue to make important investments to modernize our aging air traffic control system.
With regard to housing programs, the Community Development Block Grants program is adequately funded and the Chairman worked to ensure that tenants in assisted housing can retain their housing.
The Administration’s “Statement of Administration Policy" makes clear that this bill needs improvement before President Obama signs it into law.
As we consider the bill over the next few days, I hope that we can prevent further cuts to important transportation and housing programs. I also hope that we can defeat legislative provisions that will only the bill weaken this bill’s chance for enactment.
Finally Mr. Chairman, I would point out to my colleagues that the Senate allocation for this bill is nearly $2.4 billion higher than this bill. I hope that we are able to consider this bill quickly so that we can go to conference with the Senate to produce a bill that we can all support.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
