Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3288, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3288, TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010 -- (House of Representatives - July 23, 2009)

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Mr. POLIS. I thank my colleague, Mr. Arcuri, for the time, and I rise today, Madam Speaker, in strong support of this rule and the underlying bill. Madam Speaker, right now, our Nation's transportation infrastructure continues to fight a losing battle with our growing needs, shrinking revenues and a dwindling highway trust fund.

Meanwhile, our public housing assistance and community support programs feel the strain of additional demand, more and more families and individuals across our country who face layoffs, foreclosures and the economic waves that have rippled through nearly every sector of our economy in every State in our Nation.

Madam Speaker, this bill will help to address the challenges of those who are particularly hard hit in a responsible and thorough manner, and I thank Subcommittee Chair Olver and Chairman Obey and their staffs for a job well done. This bill provides vitally needed funding for transit through investment in the Federal Transit Administration, including commuter rail systems and a focus on multi-modal transportation planning.

This bill also reflects our growing understanding of where our transportation system needs to go in the future and how to get there. We understand that the sooner we address things like vehicle miles traveled, congestion, smart growth and complete streets, the sooner we will see the environmental, health and economic benefits that the status quo is currently lacking.

Easing congestion is crucial for my district in Colorado. Even the smallest amount of congestion means major economic impacts as travelers and companies moving goods and people on Highway 70 and Highway 36 sit idle. These highways are two of the main arteries in my district that connect nearly every community and where investment in infrastructure has not kept pace with growth.

Highway 70 is the lifeblood of our mountain communities in Colorado. This bill will help ease congestion in places like Eagle, a growing community in the mountains where, until a few years ago, rush hour was like a long lift line in Vail or too many rafts on the Colorado River. But now, this is a community that comes to a halt with rush-hour traffic that combines with regional airport traffic to yield real implications.

We all know that our Nation's housing market has been at the center of our economic troubles and that our economic troubles have only fed a cycle of more layoffs and foreclosures. These programs in this bill administered by HUD allow nonprofit organizations such as Thistle Community Housing in my district to make housing affordable for all families. Through community development grants, Thistle leverages Federal dollars with private philanthropy and local funds to not only provide affordable rental housing, but also to make the dream of homeownership possible for my constituents even of modest needs.

Make no mistake, however, this is not merely a housing subsidy program. It also promotes personal responsibility by requiring enrollment in financial literacy and job training programs. In our economic climate, these kinds of training programs are critical. To help our recovery, this bill extends the loan limits enacted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through 2010 and provides for continuation of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program.

Madam Speaker, this bill is critical for our country because it is important for our economy, our environment, and it builds and repairs the physical infrastructure of our Nation. I urge swift passage of the rule and the bill.

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