Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chair, this amendment reduces the total funding for public housing tenant-based rental assistance, excluding veterans, elderly, and the disabled, by $177 million. Our President, Donald Trump, who was trying to do what he could to balance the budget, actually had less funding for this program than what there was last year.

Because I am a person who believes in getting things done through compromise, I am reducing the increase in this program to only 2 percent from the 4 percent as the bill was shot out of the Appropriations Committee.
I have always had problems with this program. Like a lot of these programs, it kind of discourages work in that the more you work the more your rent goes up. I think, like a lot of these programs, it discourages marriage, because if you are married to somebody with a good job, you could lose your apartment. And, finally, like a lot of these programs, you could take the time to look at some of these projects. I talked to some of the people in my area who administer them. The apartments or rental units given to people who get Section 8 are better than a lot of working people, which doesn't seem right either.

I will also point out, since these appropriations bills were originally looked at, I mean at that time we already knew we were looking at blowing through a $20 trillion deficit, since that time, we have had a couple major hurricanes out there which I think would cause everybody to look for ways to reduce the spending that was put in these bills in July.

Mr. Chair, I am going to ask that amendment No. 39 pass. I am going to ask that we restrict the increase to 2 percent. I can't believe I compromised so much on that, but we will go for a 2 percent increase instead of a 4 percent increase, and hope you will all be glad.

Consider it a down payment to help the struggling people in Texas and Florida.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. Chair, I don't see how in our current position we can afford 4 percent increases on anything. Like I said, I think there is kind of an inference here that this is overall a good program, and people ought to be looking at this program. Like so many of these means-based programs, they kind of create a situation in which we both discourage work and discourage marriage. I am disappointed that there would be any alliance in this budget that people would feel a 4 percent upper was appropriate.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. Chair, just one more time I will point out, it is all fine and good to say the Federal Government ought to be spending more money. We are broke, and we got a lot more broke in August when those hurricanes hit. I think it would be appropriate for everybody around here to remember that the day will come when we can no longer borrow money, and that will be a very ugly day indeed.

Like I said, we could have introduced the amendment to go back where Donald Trump wanted. I know he is a warrior and cares a lot about this country's children and grandchildren. I put a 2 percent upper in there.
I think it is sad when people feel a 2 percent increase is being difficult on people. If there are problems back home, there is nothing that prevents local States or counties or individuals out of their own pocketbook to put more money in this sort of program.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the chairman and ranking member for their collaborative effort to bring this bill forward. I do rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 3354, which should be amendment No. 46.

This amendment deals with project-based rental assistance rather than tenant-based rental assistance. It suffers from the same problems, however. One more time, our President, when he introduced his budget looking at the $20 trillion deficit, decided to reduce this program a little bit. And it probably would be good to reduce the program a little bit because, like many of these programs, it is fundamentally flawed in that it discourages work and also discourages marriage.

I have looked at some of these housing projects in my district, and it is again irritating that people who are getting free housing sometimes have better housing than people who are paying for their own housing; therefore, I make the modest request to get rid of the increase in the current budget. I am not going as far as our President who actually decreased this line, but I think it is fair to reduce the current bill by $266 million, which is the increase in the current year.

Again, I think, as opposed to when this bill was originally put together, we have had a couple hurricanes which I think would cause everybody in this building to realize that insofar as we can spend any more money in this budget, it should be focused a little bit more on the people in Texas and Florida, and we should not be increasing other programs.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the chairman and ranking member for their collaborative effort to bring this bill forward.

As we all know, we are heading towards $20 trillion in debt. One of the agencies that I think has been criticized for a long period of time, to a certain extent for incompetence and to a certain extent wondering whether a lot of their functions are even things appropriate for the Federal Government, is the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

President Trump, who got elected to look out for our children and our grandchildren, proposed cutting this budget overall by 18 percent. I commend President Trump for trying to look out for our children and grandchildren.

The Appropriations Committee has shaved that reduction to 1 percent.

The purpose of my amendment is to increase it to approximately a 3 percent reduction, only about one-sixth of the reduction that President Trump wanted.

Since we last met in July, we have gone through two hurricanes. We already voted on an $8 billion appropriation. We know that is just a small downpayment on the new obligations that we are going to have.
I would ask this House to increase that 1 percent reduction to a 3 percent reduction, which is what we have here. I think that is very modest. It is not at all what the President wanted. It is just one- sixth of what the President wanted.

Mr. Chairman, I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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