Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2022

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 555, I call up the bill (H.R. 4502) making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Though, to consume time is not what I am here to do today. To consume time is a luxury that we can no longer afford.

Madam Speaker, after decades of disinvestment and the devastation of the pandemic, the time is now to reinvest in the American people. The time is now to create jobs, grow opportunity, and support our Nation's most vulnerable. The time is now to meet the moral test of government.

Vice President Hubert Humphrey defined this test by how government treats ``those who are in the dawn of life . . . , those who are in the twilight of life . . . , and those who are in the shadows of life.''

As I have led the Committee on Appropriations over the past 6 months, this idea has served as a guiding light. It has challenged us to dig deeply into the areas of greatest need and to provide every American the opportunity to contribute and succeed.

I believe the package of seven appropriations bills before us, H.R. 4502, will not only pass this moral test, it will fulfill the sacred mission we are charged with as a body to leave this Nation stronger and better than we found it.

With investments in education, nutrition assistance, and rural and underserved communities, we are providing every American the resources they need. By rebuilding our Nation's infrastructure and confronting the climate crisis, we are creating and sustaining good-paying American jobs. And with renewed urgency to protect our democracy, close racial disparities, and advance women's rights, we are building back better and fostering a brighter future. We are meeting the moment and more than meeting Hubert Humphrey's moral test.

As chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, I want to take a moment to turn to the investments we are making in this legislation more specifically to lift up the most vulnerable and prepare our Nation for future challenges.

The $253.8 billion we provide in the Labor-HHS bill represents a historic increase of 28 percent. It includes $7.4 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, $12.2 billion for Head Start, nearly a $20 billion increase in Federal support for high-poverty schools, and record funding for students with disabilities.

It provides continued support for social and emotional learning and makes post-secondary education more affordable with a $400 increase for the maximum Pell grant. It includes $1.1 billion for programs serving historically Black colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, community colleges, and underresourced institutions of higher education. And it provides $100 million for the Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grant program.

To give workers the skills and protections they need, this bill includes an increase of $1.6 billion for the Employment and Training Administration, including a total of $285 million for registered apprenticeships and $3.1 billion for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act State grants, and $2.1 billion for worker protection agencies.

This bill heeds the lessons of the pandemic by providing record funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including $1 billion for public health infrastructure and capacity. It invests $6.5 billion in the National Institutes of Health, which were crucial in developing the COVID-19 vaccine in record time, including an increase of $3.5 billion for biomedical research at existing NIH institutes and centers. And it supports the President's request to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, which will be indispensable in achieving breakthroughs in the treatment of diseases, such as diabetes, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease.

This bill further provides $100 million to help communities create a new mental health crisis response partnership pilot program in partnership with our law enforcement agencies. And it provides $50 million for gun violence prevention research at the NIH and the CDC.

Finally, this bill ensures equal treatment for women by repealing the discriminatory Hyde amendment and supports the more than 3 million men, women, and young adults who receive the full range of family planning and reproductive health services funded by Title X.

I have just scratched the surface of the historic and unprecedented investments contained in this funding package, which together meet this moment and, I believe, faithfully fulfill the moral test of government.

I thank all the subcommittee chairs, the ranking members, and all the members of the Committee on Appropriations and their staffs for their hard work on these bills.

In particular, I must note my deep appreciation for my partnership with Ranking Member Cole; my partnership with the ranking member of the full committee, Congresswoman Granger; and my gratitude for the Labor- HHS staff led by Stephen Steigleder, and including Jared Bass, Philip Tizzani, Jennifer Cama, Jackie Kilroy, Laurie Mignone, Becky Salay, and Trisha Castaneda. Thank you as well to the minority staff, Susan Ross and Kathryn Salmon. Last but not least, I must thank my personal staff, including Liz Albertine, Christian Lovell, Caitlin Peruccio, and Marie Gualtieri.

Madam Speaker, I urge support for the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the chair of the Committee on Appropriations' Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this critical legislation. I want to start by thanking my partner, Ranking Member Mario Diaz-Balart, for his collaboration and his cooperation, which have made this a better bill reflecting many bipartisan priorities which we can proudly support.

Division G, the T-HUD section, represents a renewed commitment to the upgrading of our aging transportation infrastructure, addressing our Nation's affordable housing and homelessness crises, bolstering our resiliency to natural disasters and climate change, remedying inequities and disparities in our housing and transportation systems, and promoting safety--whether it be preventing carbon monoxide poisoning in public housing or improving the certification of complicated aircraft to improve aviation safety.

Overall, the bill includes $84.1 billion in discretionary funding. That is an increase of nearly $8.7 billion over the fiscal year 2021 enacted level.

The bill also includes major increases in contract authority for formula grant programs that draw on the highway trust fund rather than discretionary funding, and in that respect, of course, we are mirroring the INVEST in America Act recently passed by this body.

On the housing side of the ledger, we are preventing the evictions of more than 4.8 million households by fully renewing all housing choice vouchers and meeting the renewal needs of several other programs. This is coupled with critical new investments, including more than 125,000 new tenant-based vouchers for low-income families and people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and over 4,000 new affordable housing units for seniors and people with disabilities.

The bill increases the public housing fund by 11 percent to preserve nearly 1 million units of affordable housing and improve the living conditions for more than 2 million individuals served by our public housing programs. The bill also includes significant increases for Community Development Block Grants, the HOME Program, and NeighborWorks to help expand affordable housing, spur community revitalization, and generate jobs and economic activity.

Our bill, Madam Speaker, does right by transportation as well. All modes receive robust funding, including highways, transit, rail, aviation, bike and pedestrian projects, and ports. This bill nearly doubles our investments in passenger and freight rail. It expands port infrastructure programs by about one-third and emphasizes safety at the Federal Aviation Administration. The bill includes the necessary resources to ensure all projects in the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Grants pipeline--New Starts and Small Starts--can move forward in 2022 and provides $1.2 billion for the oversubscribed RAISE program.

Madam Speaker, we are proud of this bill, and we urge our colleagues to support it with confidence.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), who is the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the chair of the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies for Appropriations.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I thank Chair DeLauro for her leadership during this process and for yielding.

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies division of the bill highlights our continued commitment to our servicemembers and to their families and to our veterans.

Constructing the barracks, bases, and training facilities that our military needs is crucial to our country's military readiness. Properly funding the Department of Veterans Affairs is how we deliver on the promise of medical care and other benefits that our veterans have earned through service to our Nation.

The Related Agencies, including the American Battle Monuments Commission and Arlington National Cemetery, demonstrate how we honor the sacrifices of those who served. That is why I am proud that that bill contains $124.5 billion in discretionary funding, an $11.4 billion increase above the enacted funding level, and $1.3 billion above the President's budget request.

For Military Construction, we provide $10.9 billion for critical infrastructure on military installations, including for seven new child development centers, and to address issues such as mold, vermin, and lead in military family housing.

The bill also invests in climate change and energy resilience at our military bases and provides $150 million for PFAS cleanup at contaminated installations.

For VA, this bill provides $113.1 billion in discretionary funding, including $97.6 billion for medical care that makes record investments in women's health along with the ``whole health'' model, mental health and suicide prevention, homelessness assistance, rural health, and opioid abuse prevention.

The bill significantly boosts funding for VA research to support work studying areas like toxic exposures and traumatic brain injury, and infrastructure improvements to ensure modern, safe facilities to treat our veterans, as well as continued implementation of Electronic Health Record Modernization and efforts to reduce the disability claims backlog.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Ranking Member Judge Carter and Ranking Member Granger, I am proud to have you as my partners and friends. I would like to thank the staff of both subcommittees and our personal offices.

This is a good bill and does right by our servicemembers, their families, and our veterans. It also benefits Floridians and advances our Democratic priorities.

The Labor-Health bill includes $6 million, an increase of $1 million for the EARLY Act legislation that I authored that educates young and at-risk women about breast cancer. It also includes language to implement my PALS Act to extend breast cancer screening for women 40 to 49 without co-pay until January 2025.

The Agriculture bill includes important report language and funding for response to citrus greening disease, as well as language and funding to strengthen the regulation of e-cigarettes.

The Energy and Water bill includes a record increase for climate- conscious clean energy programs, and a record $350 million for Everglades restoration. This is $100 million over the enacted level, but I know we can do more.

The Financial Services bill also includes $2 million, an increase of $700,000 for the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act program, which I authored to prevent childhood drownings.

Additionally, the Interior-Environment bill includes language that orders a full environmental review on oil drilling applications in Big Cypress National Preserve, and further blocks offshore oil or gas drilling in new coastal areas.

The Transportation-Housing bill includes $300 million for the Port Infrastructure Development Program, a $70 million increase, which will help Florida's ports recover from COVID-19.

And, finally, this package includes many of my community funding projects. I am proud to support this package.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the majority leader of the House.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree), the chair of the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies of the Appropriations Committee.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, our country faces dire needs. Far too many people are struggling to put food on the table, to pay their rent. Many more struggle to afford childcare or the cost of education and skills training. The deck has been stacked for so long for the wealthy and the well connected, while our infrastructure crumbles and the existential threat of climate change looms. From the mountains of Appalachia to the struggling neighborhoods of our largest cities, the biggest deficit we face is one of hope.

The moral test of our government today is how we meet these challenges. It is whether we can rise to the occasion and deliver hope for the American people who have been left behind for far too long.

The bills before us meet that moral test. Their transformative investments create jobs, grow opportunity, and provide a lifeline to the vulnerable. They invest in our infrastructure and in a cleaner, safer future.

Madam Speaker, I urge support for this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 555, I offer amendments en bloc.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

While I have offered this en bloc amendment for the purposes of legislative efficiency, I strongly oppose it.

The amendment would cut funding for important programs and services that provide opportunities for working families. The simultaneous public health and economic crises of the last 18 months have demonstrated, once again, that these programs are underfunded. They fail to meet the existing needs across the country.

A few examples. This amendment would cut Head Start by $2.4 billion. That leads to tens of thousands of children losing access to high- quality early learning programs.

It cuts the Child Care and Development Block Grant by $1.5 billion, at a time when parents want to return to work, but there is no one available to care for their children.

It cuts the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. It is a bipartisan priority, but it cuts it by $780 million.

It cuts senior nutrition, including Meals on Wheels, resulting in 25 million fewer home-delivered or prepackaged meals for low-income seniors.

It cuts biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health. It is a reduction of 10,000 new grants for potentially lifesaving research.

It cuts $2 billion from mental health and substance use disorder. CDC data shows that 93,000 deaths in 2020 were related to drug overdoses, the highest number ever.

It cuts title I funding for low-income public schools, reducing needed resources for 25 million low-income students.

It cuts special education grants to States by more than $3 billion. It reduces support for services for 7.6 million students with disabilities.

It cuts Federal financial aid programs--the Pell grants, the FSEOG program, and work study--by $5.4 billion for students and families in need.

It cuts funding for job training programs, resulting in fewer supports for Americans who are seeking better economic opportunities for themselves and their families.

I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, the Hyde amendment is a discriminatory policy. For more than 45 years, it has been routinely extended every year as a legislative rider, but the time has come to reckon with the status quo, a status quo that denies health to the poor, in this case, disproportionately denying people of color health services available to those who can afford this choice.

The inequities in our country's healthcare system have been exposed by COVID-19. Systemic racism makes itself felt here, and it is time we insist on equality for women, particularly women of color. However we feel about abortion, we shouldn't deny health coverage just because someone is working to make ends meet.

When Medicaid covers the cost of pregnancy-related care, including abortion, it means someone can make a decision based on what is best for their circumstances. Thirty-three States and the District of Columbia deny State funding to women seeking access to abortion. As a result, millions of economically insecure women in these States are hostage to their geography.

I work every day to advance the respect for life and dignity for every human being. I believe that government has a moral purpose, and I am committed to helping the poor and the disadvantaged, reducing the rising rates of poverty, taking seriously the decision to go to war.

We cannot pick and choose among life issues. Increased access to education is a life issue. The COVID-19 vaccine is a life issue. The Affordable Care Act is a life issue. Medicaid expansion is a life issue. Separating children from their families is a life issue. Gun violence prevention research is a life issue. Food and nutrition assistance, housing and homelessness assistance, supporting background checks, addressing climate change are all life issues.

The bills today all address these issues, all of which my colleagues on the other side of the aisle oppose. I am proud that the bill we consider today moves us forward, ensuring access to essential reproductive healthcare services. It protects women's health and empowers all women by eliminating these riders which for years have allowed certain politicians to insert themselves into a woman's most personal care decision. The decision to get an abortion should be made by a woman and her family in consultation with her doctor and in accordance with her own faith. The decision should not be made by people in this Chamber.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the chair of the Subcommittee on Defense.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise to oppose this particularly reckless amendment. Surely, we can do better in this body than undiscriminating, mindless, across-the-board cuts. It doesn't matter what works or what doesn't. It doesn't matter what deserves investment or what doesn't. Just cut it all.

Look at the damage to individual initiatives including many, and I have singled out some, that Republicans are noteworthy for having supported at least in the past.

Think about the FAA's Contract Tower Program that has been so important for aviation in small communities; our improvement and certification processes for major aircraft; the NeighborWorks programs to support expansion of affordable housing opportunities; the housing opportunities in this bill for veterans; the supportive service for disabled people; housing opportunities for all kinds of people in need; critical investments in our port infrastructure. Funding in this bill increases that by about a third, and on it goes.

This amendment would not encourage DOT or HUD to do more with less. It would force our constituents to do less with less.

Surely, we can do better than this. This is the opposite of responsible, discriminating legislating, and I urge defeat of this amendment.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Trone), a member of the Appropriations Committee.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, this amendment would cut Head Start, cut childcare, cut low-income home energy assistance, cut senior nutrition, cut biomedical research, cut mental health programs, cut title I for low-income public schools, cut special education, cut Federal financial aid programs like Pell grants and work-study programs, and cut funding for job training, and so much more.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 555, I offer amendments en bloc.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 45 seconds.

Madam Speaker, the en bloc amendment includes a number of proposals offered by Members on both sides of the aisle. It includes amendments offered by both Democrats and Republicans and several offered jointly by Members of both parties on which the vast majority of this body can agree.

Madam Speaker, I urge support for this bipartisan en bloc, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I misspoke earlier. This en bloc amendment includes a number of proposals offered by my Democratic colleagues, and it reflects our shared values of investing in the American people to create good paying jobs, grow opportunity, and provide a lifeline to the vulnerable; and I urge support.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McNerney).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Escobar).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut. As I would want her to know, I am ecstatic about the great leadership of her chairwomanship as well as all the Cardinals who have worked, and I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, many of whom really know that this is a very, very fine response to the needs of the American people.

Might I just say to the chair of the Appropriations Committee, just very quickly, that I was here for the Hyde amendment. I was on the Judiciary Committee. I think my colleagues need to understand that for all the years of the Hyde committee, women who were poor, who were Medicaid recipients, many of them might have died in childbirth and might have had other important emergency health issues because they were subjected to decisions that they did not make for themselves. In that instance, we have discriminated against women just because of their poverty.

Again, abortion is that of the woman, her faith, and her family. I believe this eliminating of the Hyde amendment is finally saying to all women in America that we respect you and your bodies.

I am very grateful for the support of an amendment that recognizes the crisis of diabetes and the need for research professionals and patients participating in clinical trials. Diversity in medical trials is essential to ensuring that cures, especially vaccines and therapies, work for the greatest number of persons. So my amendment decreases and increases the amount for $10 million to emphasize and get more emphasis to develop that diversity pool in research professionals and patients participating in trials.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Texas an additional 30 seconds.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Diabetes impacts all social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds, particularly African Americans. I meet many people in my constituency who have had an amputation because they were not able to receive medical care.

COVID is now resurging but the delta variant is surging. People are being hospitalized, the unvaccinated.

I make a national plea for people to be vaccinated.

As well it is impacting young people. That means that we need to focus on young people getting vaccinated. They are in college. We don't know, if they are not vaccinated, how it will impact their education and their future life.

So this is to provide the targeting programs to reach out to young people to tell them: One, get vaccinated. But to give them a bridge so that their education will not be interrupted, that they will never go back again, and that they will not suffer economically.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate my amendments being brought to the floor. I thank the leadership and as well I thank leadership for all the community projects that are helping the impoverished in my district.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of En Bloc Amendment No. 2 to Rules Committee Print 117-12, which incorporates Jackson Lee Amendments Nos. 25 and 26.

I thank the Rules Committee for making these amendments in order and Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chair DeLauro for including them in this En Bloc Amendment. Division A--Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies

Jackson Lee Amendment #25, increases and decreases funds by $10,000,000 increase in funding to support greater diversity in the pool of diabetes research professionals and patients participating in clinical trials.

Diversity in medical trials is essential to ensuring that cures, especially vaccines, and therapies, work for the greatest number of persons impacted by an illness.

34.2 million people, or 10.5 percent of the U.S. population, have diabetes. An estimated 26.8 million people--or 10.2 percent of the population--have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Approximately 7.3 million people have diabetes but have not yet been diagnosed (2018).

Diabetes impacts all social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds, particularly African Americans.

Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 5.2 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes, affecting approximately 1.6 million people.

Jackson Lee Amendment #26 increases and decreases funds by $10,000,000 with the intent of supporting programs that provide outreach and support services targeting program participants at greatest risk of not completing a college degree due to COVID-19 education disruption.

I urge all Members to vote En Bloc Amendment #2.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Ms. Sherrill).
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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. Bush).
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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the en bloc, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Pursuant to House Resolution 555, I offer amendments en bloc.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 45 seconds.

This is an en bloc amendment and includes a number of proposals offered by Members on both sides of the aisle. It includes amendments offered by both Democrats and Republicans and several offered jointly by Members of both parties on which the vast majority of this body can agree.

I urge support for this bipartisan en bloc, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia).

Mr. Speaker, I rise to clarify that if this amendment passes, it does not fund the specific project referred to by Mr. Pfluger in debate.

I support this general type of funding, and the text in the summary of the amendment are general, but the Committee on Appropriations has established a process for consideration of a specific community project funding request. That process is designed to ensure transparency and accountability.

The intention of this amendment, as explained by Mr. Pfluger during debate, appears to fund such a project without going through the vetting process. Accordingly, I would encourage my friend to submit the project to the Appropriations Committee under the established process next fiscal year.

Spanberger).
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Ms. DeLAURO. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask support for en bloc No. 3 and these important amendments. Let me emphasize my first amendment, really, with a great deal of gratitude, because this is so very important.

Human trafficking is a scourge on this Nation, and it has no boundaries; it is both domestic and international, but one of the things that is needed is for those who are trafficked, when they are found, to be able to cooperate with law enforcement. Many of those women are nondocumented immigrant women.

My amendment says none of the funds made available by this act for domestic food programs, Food and Nutrition Service, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program may be used in contravention of section 107(b) of Division A of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000.

The effect of this amendment will be to make clear that nothing in this bill restricts the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture or any Federal agency head from providing assistance and benefits to victims of trafficking under current law so that they can engage with law enforcement and get the scourge, the person who trafficked, because they take advantage of these immigrants, and they cannot survive if they don't have subsistence. Many times they are denied it, because we have not made it clear to the States they are allowed to have it.

This amendment is going to save lives. I thank my colleagues for providing this particular amendment, and as well it is clear that it is needed, because it provides victims of trafficking access to information about their eligibility to receive SNAP benefits. It does not constitute the type of SNAP recruitment activity or advertising of the SNAP program prohibited by the bill, but more importantly, it helps those who are victims.

Trafficking in humans, and especially domestic child trafficking, has no place in civilized society. It is the most lucrative business, better than drugs, and that is why it is--over and over again.

Having held the first field hearing on human trafficking, I can tell you this is an important amendment. I ask my colleagues to support the Jackson Lee amendment and en bloc No. 3.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of En Bloc Amendment No. 3 to Rules Committee Print 117-12, which incorporates Jackson Lee Amendment No. 68.

I thank the Rules Committee for making these amendments in order and Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Bishop for including it in this En Bloc Amendment.

Jackson Lee Amendment #68 is simple and straightforward, but it makes an important contribution to the bill and to a goal that every Member of this body shares--and that is ending the scourge of human trafficking.

My amendment provides that:

None of the funds made available by this Act for ``Domestic Food Programs--Food and Nutrition Service--Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program'' may be used in contravention of section 107(b) of Division A of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)).

The effect of this amendment will be to make clear that nothing in this bill restricts the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture or any federal agency head from providing assistance and benefits to victims of trafficking under current law as authorized by 22 U.S.C. Sec. 7105(b) of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (114 Stat. 1464, Pub. Law 106-386).

In particular, Jackson Lee Amendment #68 is necessary to make clear that providing victims of trafficking access to information about their eligibility to receive SNAP benefits does not constitute the type of SNAP recruitment activities or ``advertising'' of the SNAP program prohibited by the bill and by Section 4018 of the Agriculture Act of 2014 (Public Law No: 113-079).

Trafficking in humans, and especially domestic child trafficking, has no place in a civilized society. Those who engage in this illicit trade should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This House made that clear again last month when it passed H.R. 3530, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which contained my Sense of the Congress amendment added during the Judiciary Committee markup.

That means we need to ensure that state and local law enforcement agencies have the tools, resources, and training necessary to identify, apprehend, and prosecute criminals who ruthless traffic in children and young persons.

And one of the most effective resources in bringing criminals to justice is the cooperation and assistance of their victims.

Perpetrators of crime know that they are more likely to evade detection and punishment when their victims refuse to assist or cooperate with law enforcement. That is why they make it a point to instill fear in their victims--for their own safety or that of family and loved ones.

I urge all Members to vote En Bloc Amendment #3.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I am ready to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I support this amendment and urge Members to pass it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 555, I offer amendments en bloc.

While I have offered this en bloc amendment for the purposes of legislative efficiency, I strongly oppose it. The en bloc makes severe harmful changes to the bills under consideration.

Within the Labor-HHS-Education division, the amendment would support discrimination, it would attack workers' rights, cut money from education, put affordable child care further out of reach for families.

The amendment strikes a general provision from the bill that prohibits funding to organizations that do not follow the Federal regulation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

Under the previous administration, HHS used taxpayer dollars to fund child welfare organizations that were willing to discriminate against families.

The United States has over 400,000 children in foster care, over 125,000 of whom are waiting to be adopted. Children in foster care need and deserve every chance to be placed in loving homes.

America's workers, this amendment prohibits the Department of Labor from revising the previous administration's antiworker rule, granting taxpayer-funded contractors the extraordinary power to hire and fire employees based on religious beliefs. The rule weakens antibias protections for workers by shielding Federal contractors from complying with workplace antidiscrimination laws.

The amendment undermines the highly successful registered apprenticeship grant program by wasting taxpayer funds on low-quality, predatory programs with no accountability.

At a time when quality, affordable education is more important than ever, this amendment cuts $122 million from the higher education account and the underlying bill. The amendment takes money away from Hispanic-serving institutions, historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal colleges and universities, Asian-American and Native-American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and other minority-serving institutions.

Finally, as our Nation faces a childcare crisis, the amendment reduces childcare options for student parents who rely on university childcare programs supported by the Childcare Access Means Parents in Schools Program.

Harmful changes. This barely scratches the surface of funding cuts and harmful policy provisions espoused in this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this en bloc. I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, for the reasons I spoke of earlier, I urge a defeat of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, through scientific research, institutions of higher education advance our understanding, advance our knowledge of various aspects of our world, expands our knowledge. Without such research, there would be limited scientific discovery and breakthroughs helping to shape our daily lives.

As more States and localities move to legalize cannabis, including my home State of Connecticut earlier this month, many institutions of higher education are expanding the knowledge base on this controlled substance, offering scientific information to better inform decisionmaking and medical use.

What are its properties for medical use? I don't know. I am not a scientist. I am not a medical professional. That is what science is about, to expand our minds, to give us information about what directions we ought to take.

In advancing our understanding of cannabis, many institutions fear that they will lose access to Federal funding because of the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, which, in part, prohibits the possession of a controlled substance, including cannabis.

The underlying bill includes a provision to prohibit the Department of Education from penalizing institutions of higher education that conduct scientific research on marijuana. Evidence-based research regarding cannabis ought to be encouraged in academic settings, not discouraged. We should ensure that we broaden our understanding of marijuana, not limit it.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I oppose the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 555, I offer amendments en bloc.

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Ms. DeLAURO. 129 and 205 printed in part B of House Report 117-109 be modified in the form I have placed at the desk.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Pelosi), the Speaker of the House.

Ms. DeLauro.

Mr. Speaker, the amendments en bloc includes a number of proposals offered by Members on both sides of the aisle. It includes amendments offered by Democrats and Republicans, and several offered jointly by Members of both parties on which the vast majority of this body can agree.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Speier).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Schrier).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I would just say I support the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeLAURO. Pursuant to House Resolution 555, I offer amendments en bloc.

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Ms. DeLAURO. The en bloc amendment includes a number of proposals offered by my Democratic colleagues. It reflects our shared values of investing in the American people to create good paying jobs, grow opportunities, and provide a lifeline to the vulnerable.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Strickland).

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Ms. DeLAURO. Omar).
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Ms. DeLAURO. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me mention the amendments that I have in en bloc No. 6. I will focus on a few of them.

I have Nos. 157, 216, 220, 219, 218, 217, amendments that I think will make the legislation better but also help the American people and, certainly, focus on issues that are impacting my district. But these are universal matters that should be addressed.

My amendment increases and decreases funding for the Environmental Programs and Management by $5 million to highlight the need to support culturally competent Federal, State, and local public health and environmental protection efforts to address cancer clusters impacting overburdened communities in the Gulf Coast region. That includes Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens, among others, in the northeast part of Houston which have suffered because of creosote contamination, Superfunds, railroads that have contaminated the soil. They have seen the seismic increase of cancer among families. It is going through generations. I have met these families, and they have had mothers, fathers, children, grandchildren have cancer and die of cancer. This is an important legislative amendment for me.

Amendment No. 216, very quickly, deals with the reckless utilization of Federal dollars by the Texas Department of Transportation. We have, by our community, filed 106 complaints against them. This amendment indicates that you cannot put in place a transportation project that has not been determined to meet the statutory and fiduciary obligations of the National Historic Preservation Act. It pertains to I-45.

In addition, we provide funding or focus on motorcycle, urban bicycle, and pedestrian safety. That is a challenge in the State of Texas, and we have had a lot of injuries because of the lack of sensitivity to that question.

In addition, we have a housing amendment and other amendments that are very important to this legislation in my district.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of En Bloc Amendment No. 6 to Rules Committee Print 117-12, which incorporates Jackson Lee Amendments Nos. 157, and 216-220.

I thank the Rules Committee for making these amendments in order and Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Price for including them in this En Bloc Amendment. Division E--Interior and the Environment

Jackson Lee Amendment #157 increases and decreases funding for Environmental Programs and Management by $5 million to highlight the need to support culturally competent federal, state, and local public health and environmental protection efforts to address cancer clusters impacting overburdened communities in the gulf coast region.

Division G--Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

Jackson Lee Amendment #216 prohibits the Department of Transportation from using funds for Section 106 Transportation construction projects in urban areas that have not been determined to meet the statutory and fiduciary obligations of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Jackson Lee Amendment #220 increases and decreases the National Infrastructure Investments account by $1,000,000 to emphasize support for urban bicycle and pedestrian safety programs.

Jackson Lee Amendment #219 increases and decreases by $1 million the Federal Rail Administration Safety and Operation's account to emphasize the need to provide dedicated funding to address community engagement on safety issues related railroad crossings in urban areas.

Jackson Lee Amendment #218 provides $1,000,000 in assistance to address challenges faced by communities impacted by persistent poverty and are not included in decision making when major highway construction threatens their homes, businesses, and culturally significant structures.

Jackson Lee Amendment #217 increases by $1,000,000 the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity to address the fairness in the use of Community Development Block Grant Disaster funding to repair or replace single family homes damaged during Hurricane Harvey to ensure that multigenerational homes can house the family at documented pre-disaster capacity.

I urge all Members to vote En Bloc Amendment #6 and yield back my time.

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