Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Chair, I offer this amendment to bring attention to the provision I fought to include in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding package.

With support from the Amalgamated Transit Union, we were able to secure $5 million in technical assistance and training in this bill, with a specific $2.5 million set aside for frontline bus, rail, and transit workers.

These critical funds would provide frontline workers with professional development and training to help bus and transit operators hone their professional skills. This funding will make our public transit safer, more efficient, and help workers better provide for their families as they climb up the professional ladder.

Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Price and Nita Lowey for supporting the inclusion of this provision, and I urge support for this en bloc amendment.

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Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment that I offer, along with Congressman Cisneros of California, would set aside an additional $5 million to fund the design, planning, and preparation of innovative transit- oriented development, or TOD, projects. TOD projects that incorporate better land use planning and design can be instrumental in preventing displacement and gentrification in both urban and rural areas, leading to more equitable development.

Without proper funding for planning, poor land use decisions can often increase the threat of displacement. Too often, it is communities of color and working-class families who suffer most, like the 23,000 Hispanic and African American residents who have left the Logan Square neighborhood in my district, as well as the Pilsen part of my district in Chicago.

My amendment would provide a modest increase to the funds available for transit-oriented planning and design and better provide access to jobs and affordable housing in communities across the U.S.

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Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I just want to point out that better planning could, in fact, save more money that would be available for infrastructure and development.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

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