Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Programs for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2012, and for Other Purposes--Conference Report

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. I rise to speak about the transportation-housing title of the bill before the Senate. It has broad bipartisan support because it addresses the very real housing and transportation needs of American families across the Nation.

This is not a perfect bill, but there is a lot to be proud of in the conference report, and I am pleased with what we have been able to accomplish with my colleague Senator Collins, because she has worked so hard in a bipartisan way to get us to this point, and Chairman Latham and Congressman Olver on the House side and all of their staff.

This bill makes needed investments in our transportation infrastructure and creates critical jobs, while also supporting housing and services for our Nation's most vulnerable.

This bill touches the lives of all Americans in ways they can appreciate every day, whether it is a parent who commutes every day and needs safe roads or new public transportation options so they can spend more time with their family, a business that depends on a solid infrastructure to move goods and attract customers, young families searching for safe and affordable communities to raise their children or a repeatedly laid-off worker who needs help to keep his or her family in their home. This bill has a real impact on Americans who are struggling in these troubling economic times.

Our bill takes a balanced approach that addresses the most critical needs we face in both transportation and housing, while remaining financially responsible and staying within the constraints of the budget.

The bill contains improvement investments for our Nation, including $500 million for the competitive, multimodal TIGER Program to help improve our Nation's infrastructure, including rail transportation projects; $1.4 billion for Amtrak, including funding for State-supported services; sufficient funding to preserve housing for our Nation's low-income families, elderly, disabled, and veterans who rely on HUD's housing and rental assistance programs; $39.8 billion to continue the Federal-Aid Highway Program at current levels; $45 million for housing counseling; and $75 million for 11,000 new vouchers for homeless veterans.

The bill also addresses the needs of communities that have been hit by disasters this year, providing $1.7 billion in emergency relief highway funding and up to $400 million in CDBG funding for areas that have been most impacted by recent disasters.

It is not a perfect bill, but it is a good bill. It represents a fair, bipartisan compromise that makes investments in our infrastructure and protects the most vulnerable, while living within our funding restraints. Our bill helps commuters, homeowners, and the most vulnerable in our society. Most importantly, it creates jobs and supports the continued recovery of the national economy.

I look forward to having it reach the President's desk soon for his signature, and before I close I again thank my colleague Senator Collins and all of her staff for all of their very hard work on this bill. I also thank all of my staff members who worked beyond reasonable hours to get this bill to this point tonight to be able to send it to the President. They are Alex Keenan, Megan McCarthy, Dabney Hegg, Rachel Milberg, Molly O'Rourke, Travis Lumpkin, Evan Schatz, and Lauren Overman. I thank all of them for their hard work and all of Senator Collins' staff as well as our chairman, Senator Inouye, and look forward to the passage of this bill this evening.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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