Hearing of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Diaz-Balart, Markup on FY 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill

Hearing

Today I am pleased to present the fiscal year 2018 THUD bill to the Subcommittee for your consideration, with the goal of a favorable motion to the Full Committee. I think we can all agree we've had an aggressive schedule this year. I want to thank each of you for your participation during hearings and throughout this process.

I want to thank my Ranking Member, Mr. Price. You have been great to work with, and I appreciate your attention and commitment to the agencies in our bill.

We are also fortunate to have strong leadership in our Full Committee Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Lowey. We couldn't have a better team at the top of our Committee.

The bill we are considering today provides $56.5 billion in discretionary budget authority. We are $1.1 billion below the enacted level, but $8.6 billion above the budget request. We have targeted funding in this bill to essential investments in safety, infrastructure, and housing assistance for our most vulnerable populations. This includes the elderly, the disabled, and our veterans.

This bill includes $17.8 billion in discretionary appropriations, and $76.7 billion in total resources for the Department of Transportation.

The Federal Aviation Administration is funded at $16.6 billion, an increase of $435 million above the budget request. We provide this increase to keep advancing NextGen programs with over $1 billion, and to advance the safe operation of our Air Traffic Control system. We made sure we provided funding to support the men and women who work every day to ensure we maintain U.S. leadership as the safest, most complex air traffic system in the world.

Through the federal-aid highways program, the bill delivers $45 billion in road and bridge funding from the Highway Trust Fund, which is almost $1 billion above the fiscal year 2017 level. This funding mirrors the authorized levels and will provide much needed growth and improvements within America's highway system.
The bill provides $2.2 billion to the Federal Railroad Administration to continue our commitment to rail safety and to make critical infrastructure investments.For Amtrak, the bill prioritizes funding for the Northeast Corridor, our most critical and congested rail line. The bill also addresses the repair backlog on the Northeast Corridor with a $500 million investment in the Federal-State Partnership to the State of Good Repair Grants.

The bill provides $11.8 billion for the Federal Transit Administration. We reject the Administration's proposal to shut down the Capital Investment Grant program, and instead we provide funding to keep projects moving through the pipeline.

The bill provides $100 million in new funding for automated vehicle research and development.
As we learned in our "Emerging Technologies" hearing earlier this year, autonomous cars and trucks have the potential to save tens of thousands of lives and this investment will give DOT the tools it needs to keep pace
with this exciting innovation.

The bill includes $300 million for the Maritime Security Program to ensure the Nation's security during war time or emergencies.

For housing programs, we worked to ensure that we continue assistance to our most vulnerable populations. The bill includes $38.3 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The bill includes significant increases to keep pace with inflation and to maintain housing for those who are currently served by HUD's rental assistance programs.

The Administration proposed a number of rental reforms, which will require the authorizers to act. We do not include these in our bill, and instead direct HUD to immediately take action to relieve administrative burdens and cut red tape.

Homeless Assistance programs are provided $2.4 billion, which is $133 million above the request. We provided this level to ensure the renewal of all continuum of care contracts. Housing for Opportunities for Persons with AIDS is provided $356 million, which is $26 million above the request.

The bill restores a number of community development programs that were proposed for elimination in the budget request -- CDBG, HOME, and Capacity Building. We listened to our Members from both sides of the aisle, who made sure we knew this was a priority. These programs support decision making where it should happen -- at the local level.

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