▶ 0:19:115:15. And while we're running a little bit uh tardy today, I want to go ahead and call this subcommittee meeting to order. The subcommittee on transportation, housing, and urban development and related agencies is now in order. Welcome to the subcommittee markup for the fiscal 2026 transportation housing and urban development and related agencies appropriations bill.
▶ 0:19:37I want to welcome Chairman Cole, the ranking member Delaro and ranking member Klyber. The bill we are considering today meets our nation's most critical transportation and housing needs while reducing excessive spending and regulatory burdens.
▶ 0:19:55The discretionary allocation in this bill is $89.9 billion, $4.5 billion below the fiscal 25 enacted level, a 5% reduction in spending while cutting even deeper to accommodate $3.7 billion in member specific projects. When accounting for $1.5 billion in fewer housing receipts, actual spending is 6 billion below FY25.
▶ 0:20:25We've carefully allocated resources to the most critical missions at DOT and HUD while implementing significant reforms. The bill prioritizes transportation safety on our railways, roads, and airways, and ensures a responsible safety net with housing support for our most vulnerable, especially the elderly, the disabled, veterans, and the working poor.
▶ 0:20:50We've eliminated or reduced 38 programs totaling $7.3 billion in savings. Additionally, we are redirecting over $4 billion from programs funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to real infrastructure, air traffic control, highways, maritime, and rail. The bill reflects the priorities of the Trump administration and implements staffing reductions while maintaining essential services.
▶ 0:21:20Transportation safety remains our highest priority for DOT. The bill provides $5 billion for FAA facilities and equipment, a nearly $2 billion increase over FY25. This investment builds on the historic funding the FAA received in the one big beautiful bill for technology updates and facility improvements that will maintain America's global leadership in We prioritize safety.
▶ 0:21:50We prioritize US competitiveness and investment in American infrastructure by protecting safety related positions and allocating over $4 billion to airport improvement projects. The bill provides funding to train and hire 2500 new air traffic controllers to backfill the retiring workforce and deploy controllers to underst staff facilities.
▶ 0:22:14We maintain 514 million for the essential air service program protecting service to 56 communities that budget request would have eliminated. This bill provides $63.4 billion for highways and bridges through the highway trust fund, a $ 1.3 billion increase. These resources are directly allocated to state departments of transportation, enabling state and local governments to collaborate on high priority road projects.
▶ 0:22:44The bill provides 200 million for tribal transportation and 200 million for truck parking, enhancing safety and improving the flow of The bill provides $925 million for Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and $1.4 4 billion for the national network through a transfer from the IIGJA Fed State Partnership Program, which under the Biden administration was used to fund wasteful high-speed rail projects.
▶ 0:23:14The bill provides $500 million for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant Program, known as Chrissy, supporting freight rail The bill supports DO's maritime mission with $481 million for strategic seal lift programs, including a $62 million increase for the maritime security program and a $31 million increase for the tanker security program.
▶ 0:23:43We provide 184 million for the US Merchant Marine Academy and $91 million for state maritimemies, including 32 million to kickstart a 10-year capital improvement plan. The bill meets our responsibility to support our most vulnerable citizens who rely on housing assistance while implementing fiscal discipline.
▶ 0:24:06The funds provided in the bill support authorized rental assistant programs at a fiscally responsible level of $50 billion for section 8 vouchers, projectbased rental assistance, and programs that serve the elderly and the disabled. This is roughly equal to FY25 levels.
▶ 0:24:26With the flexibilities provided to HUD, we expect the department to prioritize the 80,000 Veterans Affairs supportive vouchers that are currently under lease. The bill provides 4.16 billion for homeless assistance grants, a 2.6% increase over enacted levels, including $3.8 billion for the continuum of care program.
▶ 0:24:51We fund the community development block grant program at 3.3 billion, maintaining a program that was proposed for elimination. As a former mayor, I know how important this program is to meet local needs from affordable housing rehabilitation to programs like meals on wheels and boys and girls clubs. We do not provide further funding for the home investment partnership program as only 16% of the 5 billion in home ARP has been expended.
▶ 0:25:22The bill implements significant government reforms consistent with the Trump administration's priorities. The bill reflects a 5% total staffing cut across all departments and agencies while ensuring DOT safety positions are fully funded.
▶ 0:25:39We've included general provisions that reinforce Trump administration policies on climate, immigration, regulatory burden, and This bill represents a responsible approach that prioritizes core infrastructure needs, maintains an essential safety net for our most vulnerable citizens, and implements the fiscal discipline and regulatory relief that the American people demanded in the last election.
▶ 0:26:06I believe the decision in this bill will have a positive impact in every congressional district while meeting our responsibility to rein in spending and reduce regulatory overreach. I want to thank all the members of the subcommittee for their participation in the process to this point. The bill reflects many of your priorities. I want to thank my friend, Ranking Member Klyurn, for his collaboration and respect during this process.
▶ 0:26:33I've learned from each of you through our hearing process that all the ideas you've brought me either through your formal request or through casual conversations are included in this bill. This bill is better because of your Thank you again, Chairman Cole, for your leadership and moving appropriation bills forward. This will give us a shot at completing our work without endless continuing resolutions.
▶ 0:26:59And while the Senate has yet to act on their version of the bill, I'm pleased that we're doing our job in the House to have the best possible position at the negotiating table. I look forward to working with all of you as the bill moves forward, and I ask for your support for this legislation. I now recognize my good friend and the ranking member of this subcommittee, Mr. Klyurn, for his opening remarks. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr.
▶ 0:27:27chairman, we often refer to each other as my good friend uh when sometimes we really don't mean it. Uh and when I rejoined the appropriations committee, I never thought I would make new friends, but through common human connections and shared values. When I refer to you as my good friend, I really mean it. And I thank you for your enlightened leadership of this subcommittee.
▶ 0:27:56And that is why it is with regret that I am unable to support this bill as written. Throughout this country, the American people are concerned about the cost of living. In fact, more than 771,000 people are experiencing homelessness and 75% of low-income renters spent more than half of their income on rent.
▶ 0:28:21In my home state of South Carolina, nearly 57,000 lowincome and working households, seniors, people with disabilities, working families count on HUD's rental assistant programs to help make ends meet. And nearly every district is faith is faced with a housing crisis. I hope that we can agree that housing is a basic human need.
▶ 0:28:51Yet, the bill before us proposes to short change HUD's rental assistance programs by more than $5 and eliminate all investments for eviction prevention. This would mean hundreds of thousands of HUD assisted households would face eviction.
▶ 0:29:12The majority of whom are elderly, disabled or families with children given the dire need to lower the cost of living for Americans. This is despite the housing shortage of more than seven million units. This bill cuts housing construction and preservation programs by 46%. Nearly half.
▶ 0:29:41This includes eliminating the pro housing and home programs which help mayors and governors cut red tape and expand housing by 45,000 new units. This bill also gives HUD broad authority to increase rent costs while cutting programs that help put residents on a path to self-sufficiency and wealth building by 31%.
▶ 0:30:09This bill ends grants to 10 HUD certified housing counseling agencies in South Carolina who each year educate and lead hundreds of home buyers to successful home ownership. this bill makes it harder for our constituents to find places to live.
▶ 0:30:32The bill before us has largely adopted the president's proposal to further gut fair housing enforcement by cutting fair housing activities by 67%. people with disabilities who account for of individuals filing discrimination claims at a time when less than 5% of America's housing is accept accessible and over
▶ 0:31:0260 million Americans have a disability including a disproportionate share of veterans seniors black Americans and tribal communities The harmful cuts in this bill extend far beyond housing.
▶ 0:31:22This bill also zeros out investments for Amtrak, leaving little to no room for making the necessary infrastructure upgrades for passenger rail. Guts public transit and bus improvement projects, many with shovels already in the ground.
▶ 0:31:43ignores the costly realities of climate change and takes $4.4 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law to make up for a wofully inadequate Now, let's be honest about what's really happening here.
▶ 0:32:05Just weeks ago, Republicans passed their big ugly bill, which will increase the deficit by trillions of dollars over the next decade through tax cuts for billionaires and big business. At the same time, in this appropriation process, Republicans claim we must responsibly cut federal spending because of deficit concerns.
▶ 0:32:30But their definition of responsible is taking housing away from vulnerable Americans and kicking the can down the road on addressing the country's growing housing shortage, homelessness crisis, and crumbling infrastructure. Problems that will only get bigger and more expensive if we do nothing to address them.
▶ 0:32:54Now, the funding tactics of robbing Peter to pay Paul have real life consequences. What we do or don't do in this bill is not just about numbers on a spreadsheet.
▶ 0:33:10It's about a mother who will lose her housing voucher, an aging senior who can't find accessible housing, and a working family who can't afford both rent and reliable transportation to get to work.
▶ 0:33:32this bill is full of unrealistic gimmicks and will be devastating to many communities throughout the country, especially in my home state of South Carolina. Mr.
▶ 0:33:45Chairman, I understand the challenge you face, but I respectfully cannot support a bill that fails to make honest investments to improve daily modernize our rail systems, and address the public housing backlogs that have plagued our nation for decades.
▶ 0:34:10My Republican friends must develop the means and must the courage to do that which is necessary to make America's greatness accessible and affordable for all. This bill fails to meet that goal and I respectfully and regretfully urge a no vote and I yield back the balance of my time. I thank the gentleman, my friend from South Carolina.
▶ 0:34:37We're joined today by the chairman of the full committee of the House Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole. You're recognized. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Uh, and thank you to ranking member Klyurn and ranking member of the full committee, my good friend, Mr. Delora, and subcommittee members. Today's transportation, housing, and urban development measure is about building stronger, traveling safer, and supporting American communities.
▶ 0:35:03This bill responsibly and effectively funds critical transportation and housing needs while safeguarding taxpayer dollars. With targeted investments in surface infrastructure and a meaningful increase to highway trust fund programs, everyone from the traveling public to freight haulers will benefit from more reliable systems and safer travel.
▶ 0:35:26Enhanced resources for FAA facilities and equipment will modernize air traffic control, hire needed controllers, and accelerate the deployment of new technologies. The bill also advances innovation and aircraft certification, drone integration, and automated vehicle development.
▶ 0:35:44National defense priorities are also reinforced with strong support for strategic seal lift programs and our Communities across the country will be strengthened through local development initiatives, housing assistant, and resources to prevent homelessness. America's always been a nation of builders, and this measure continues that legacy by investing in infrastructure, innovation, and competitiveness that drive long-term growth. So, I thank you, Mr.
▶ 0:36:14Chairman, for your efforts, and I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Cole. chair now would recognize the ranking member of the full appropriations committee, my good friend from the great state of Connecticut. Thank you, Mr. Laurel. You're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh it's a pleasure to be here with you today. Chairman Wulmarmac, who uh who our offices are next to each other on the fourth floor in this building, and chairman Cole, a dear friend, and ranking member Klyber.
▶ 0:36:40I want to share my appreciation for the subcommittee staff's work in particular Christina Monroe, Jackie Kilroy, and Nora Fay. I oppose the bill before us today, which will make affordable housing and quality transportation options more expensive and out of reach for more Americans. We are in the middle of a cost of living crisis and housing and transportation are two of the largest expenses for American households.
▶ 0:37:09The burden of everyday necessities, rent, mortgage rates, and housing prices, home insurance, car insurance, has skyrocketed. Americans are desperate for help with housing and transportation costs. But President Trump is not laser focused on the cost of living, which he is actually making worse. Nor are House Republicans.
▶ 0:37:30The big ugly bill is handing massive tax breaks to billionaires and the biggest corporations while driving up the cost for middle class families to buy a home and abandoning neighborhoods devastated by natural disasters and struggling with historic disinvestment. And today we are considering another House Republican bill which will raise costs for struggling American families and make it harder for them to get by each month. Never mind that we have no complete budget and no allocation.
▶ 0:38:00We are holding this market markup in a completely unprecedented time as a Congress's authority is being challenged by a lawless administration. Since taking office, President Trump's administration has stolen resources appropriated by the Congress for programs and services across the federal government, including several in this bill that helped to grow the middle class, protect workers, and support American businesses.
▶ 0:38:26President Trump and Elon Musk have attacked and destroyed programs that help the most vulnerable in our society seek stable and affordable housing and which help strengthen local economies and opportunities between neighborhoods and across regions. Grants for nonprofits to fight the scourge of housing discrimination were terminated, meaning many Americans, including people with disabilities, will go without safe and sufficient housing.
▶ 0:38:54Organizations and local governments helping get people off the streets face continuous delays in accessing the resource resources this committee provided to get people into stable housing. As seniors and families face increased energy costs, this administration is freezing a program that helps make their housing more energy efficient and resilient from natural disasters.
▶ 0:39:17Taxpayer funding investments to repair our roads, bridges, transit systems, and ports that create jobs and boost local economies have been stolen, creating costly delays and risking jobs. The states, tribes, and communities that we're counting on and planning around these investments are left high and dry. All of these programs Congress enacted and appropriated funding for in law. I repeat, in law.
▶ 0:39:42They are substituting Congress's decisions and judgment with their own, turning Article One of the Constitution on its head. Yet, this bill ignores these facts and realities, setting an extremely dangerous precedent for handing over our power to the executive branch. And these cuts are not numbers on a page. They are not only felt in Washington, DC, they affect all of our constituents.
▶ 0:40:06In my district, a grand awarded to the Towers, a nonprofit that provides housing for Jewish seniors in needs of support and care, was frozen by the Trump administration as an illegal grab to eliminate investments in energy efficiency and healthy housing, preventing critical renovations for the 55year-old building. And just a few weeks ago, I joined Ashley Bailey, a lifelong New Haven resident, and her daughter London at their home on Howard Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut.
▶ 0:40:37Ashley is in the process of becoming a homeowner, moving herself and her daughter out of their apartment and back into the home she lived in as an infant, thanks to the help of Neighborhood Housing Services. Neighborhood Housing Services restored and rehabilitated the home on Howard Avenue to make it more habitable and are selling the home to Ashley at a subsidized rate using the home investment partnership and community development block grant programs.
▶ 0:41:04Both of which were necessary investments to revive this property and add value to this neighborhood. Yet, the transformative investments made by the home investment partnerships program are entirely entirely eliminated in this bill. Ashley's family is not the only working family to benefit from these programs in Connecticut.
▶ 0:41:25Neighborhood Housing Services has helped 300 families in New Haven buy homes, creating more homeowners, and making the American dream possible for people who otherwise may not have reached it. But the Trump administration stealing and the bill before us today puts the American dream further out of reach for the working class and middle class makes it more difficult for those struggling to keep a roof over their head to secure and remain in affordable housing.
▶ 0:41:52This bill is a pro-eviction, pro- homelessness, pro- discrimination platform. It fails to prevent the several hundred,000 evictions across the country by shorting rent payments for public housing by $1.5 billion and the section 8 voucher program by $3 billion. This bill fought short of providing vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities the safety net they need to stay secure in their homes.
▶ 0:42:20And while the people of Hawaii are still recovering from devastating wildfires, the bill slashes resources for Native Hawaiians to live in affordable housing on their ancestral homelands. Nearly 3/4 of a million American Americans experience homelessness on any given night. But this bill short changes homeless assistance grants, which would mean nearly 28,000 fewer people living on the streets will get the help they need to secure housing.
▶ 0:42:51After blowing up the deficit by trillions of dollars to hand billionaires and corporations a massive windfall, the majority is pinching pennies by kicking Americans, including children, out of their homes and onto the streets. And while housing costs are escalating faster than Americans keep up, so too are the costs of transportation. New cars, used cars, and insurance are all making transportation unaffordable. So what does the majority's bill do to help?
▶ 0:43:19Gut investments in our transit networks that relieve Americans of high transportation costs. No discretionary funding for Amtrak's national network and northeast quarter corridor. A robbing Peter to pay Paul gimmick. Are you kidding me? The majority is zeroing out investments for Amtrak, forcing the railroad to dig into the couch cushions in hopes of finding what they need to pay their workers, maintain service, and keep their train system safe.
▶ 0:43:46As you walk away from investments that actually transform our intercity passenger rail system, did your constituents go to your town halls and tell you they are desperate for more traffic on our roads? Business travelers and commuters rely on Amtrak service to get to work. This bill kicks the can on rail infrastructure improvement already underway from New York to Norman, Oklahoma. This bill's a visceration of commuter transportation does not just impact Amtrak.
▶ 0:44:16It helps projects that improve rail and bus operations everywhere from Miami to Salt Lake City to Columbus to San Antonio. Americans cannot keep up with the cost of housing and transportation, and this committee has more power than most to do something about it. But unfortunately, the majority has instead pursued draconian funding levels and a pro-eviction, pro- road congestion agenda that will only make household budgets tighter.
▶ 0:44:45But hey, at least the billionaires in President Trump's cabinet and corporations like Exxon Mobile are getting even more tax breaks. I am sure those will trickle down any day now. I cannot support this bill and I yield back. I thank the gentle lady for her opening comments. Are there any other members that wish to be heard during this subcommittee markup? Miss Watson Coleman.
▶ 0:45:20Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the chairs and the ranking members. I rise today in opposition to this bill. There are many programs that are designed to help working families, which would see their budgets cut, their resources restricted, and their capacities diminished under the Republican proposal here today. It underfunds rental assistance by 5 billion.
▶ 0:45:45It entirely eliminates a program specifically designed to help the elderly and folks with disabilities keep a ro roof over their heads. It it gets rid of legal assistance for folks facing eviction, placing even more power in the hands of landlords. It slashes family selfsufficiency and economic mobility programs while at the same time imposing strict time limits and additional red tape for working families who have to navigate these programs.
▶ 0:46:13and it cuts fair housing enforcement across the board by 67%. The cuts in this bill threatened to kick people off of housing assistance, forcing many of them to confront addiction and homelessness. Choking off resources for these programs will not make our country stronger. It will make our country weaker and our economy weaker. When working families suffer financial hardship, these support programs help them back onto their feet.
▶ 0:46:41By cutting these programs, all we're doing is prolonging their pain, increasing the time it will take for them to get back on their feet, if they ever can at all. This should be common sense sense for folks here today. If you lose your job and fall behind on your rent, what is going to help you find a new job and get back on your feet faster? Becoming homeless or receiving rental assistance? It's an obvious choice. When we cut these programs, we compound hardship on hardship.
▶ 0:47:10We extend despair without having the foresight to see what we are all worse off for it as well. We deny our society the productive contributions of those who instead of receiving short-term support were pushed down into a cycle of poverty and homelessness that can be impossible to break out of. These cuts are not only cruel, but they're also ineffective. They do not achieve the goal Republicans claim to be advancing.
▶ 0:47:38they will end up costing us more in the end. In addition to devastating cuts to our housing programs, the Republican proposal takes an act to the Northeast card to cutting funding for Amtrak and New Jersey Transit when we should be shoring up our transportation infrastructure ahead of the FIFA World Cup next year. The Northeast Corridor is the busiest transit lane in the country. It's an invaluable engine for our regional economy.
▶ 0:48:05These cuts will hurt my constituents and the folks all across the Northeast. I urge my colleagues to oppose the bill in its current form and make necessary changes to support working families and thank you for the opportunity to speak. I yield back. Certainly. Thank you for your comments. Are there other members who wish to be heard? Miss Torres. Thank you, uh, Chairman.
▶ 0:48:28I I too want to join the ranking member in strong opposition of this bill as it undercuts essential transportation and housing programs at a time when our communities can afford it the least. My district is an inland port where everything that comes from the port of LA and Long Beach makes its way to my district that includes hazardous materials.
▶ 0:48:54It is devastating to see that this bill does not reinstate the pipeline in hazardous material safety administration office in my district in the city of Ontario, California. Doge deemed this office um as worth cutting even though this office is responsible for overseeing the safe transportation of hazardous materials throughout the western United States.
▶ 0:49:22On the housing side, this bill is even more devastating. It guts section 8 by cutting 770 um million dollars as we already face a housing affordability crisis and rising rents are pushing families in my district closer to homelessness, including senior citizens every single day.
▶ 0:49:47One of my constituents, a single mom from the city of Ontario, uh told me that she lives and struggles uh to survive with her two young kids. She works full-time, but without her section 8 housing voucher, she simply couldn't afford to pay rent. Where will they live? That voucher is a difference between stability and homelessness for this family. And with rising housing costs, she's not alone.
▶ 0:50:16There are thousands of families in our region just like her doing everything right now, working hard, but hardly making hardly getting by. This bill puts them at risk. It puts her children at risk and it sends a cruel message that Republicans in in Washington are more interested in cutting corners than keeping families housed.
▶ 0:50:40This bill also uses immigration scare tactics to punish local governments that prioritize community trust. By blocking funds to the so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, it turns an infrastructure bill into a political weapon, undermining public safety and distracting from the real housing and transportation needs. The consequences go beyond politics. in the Inland Empire.
▶ 0:51:09It is devastating to witness the racial profiling of Latino workers, whether at construction sites or simply buying materials at Home This unlawful targeting and profiling of Latino workers, threatens to reduce the number of housing units that we can build since Latinos make up a significant portion of the construction workforce, especially in residential construction.
▶ 0:51:37This issue has farreaching For those reasons and many more, uh, and for the people living in my district, this bill is a punch to the gut. And I urge my colleagues to reject it and to work towards a budget that builds, that lifts, and that reflects the values of the people that we are sent here to represent. And I yield back. Thank you, Miss Torres. Any other member wish to speak? Mr. Aragular.
▶ 0:52:08Thank you, Mr. Chairman and ranking member Klyurn and the com and the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Deloro, and the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Cole. I appreciate your willingness, Mr. Chairman, uh to work with members to hear from us about our priorities. Unfortunately, I rise today because of this bill needs significant improvement, and that might be giving it the benefit of the doubt.
▶ 0:52:31As ranking member Deloro stated, eliminating funding for home investment partnership programs is going to make it harder to build more houses, lower the cost of housing, and give more people an opportunity to find affordable housing or rent. There is a housing crisis happening across the country, and we need to treat it like a crisis. It does not make sense that we'd take away one of the most effective tools we have for lowincome and working-class families.
▶ 0:52:59This amounts to more than a billion dollar cut of affordable housing at a time when families are struggling to pay rent and buy a home. This is going to hurt the people in my district and in my state, and I imagine it's going to have a similar impact in communities across the country. Also, in my state, preparations are well underway for the Olympics and the World Cup. These events are going to highlight the best of America, create thousands of jobs, and bring in billions of dollars in revenue.
▶ 0:53:28But the federal government needs to be a partner in this effort in order for it to be successful. Just as we have been, the federal government is a partner throughout prior Olympics. There is no transit funding including in this bill for the Olympics or the World Cup. This is more than just a pennywise and a pound foolish. It's going to make Americans attending these events less safe. We can do better, Mr. Chairman, and I hope this committee will make the needed improvements. Finally, Mr. Mr.
▶ 0:53:55Chairman, I'm concerned about the $58 million reduction in Neighborworks program. I've seen firsthand the important work that NeighborWorks does and the impact that it has on families in my community. Just like Miss Torres, the Neighborhood Housing Services in the Inland Empire, the region that we both serve, has been helping low-income families realize the dream of American home ownership since 1981. Lately, we've seen their funding parcelled out every four months, and it's been hard on their operations.
▶ 0:54:25Any further reduction in funding is going to seriously impede their ability to help the families in my community. This would be an unacceptable outcome of this funding bill, and I know that my colleagues have similar stories on why Neighbor Works is an effective and worthy investment. We can work together to improve this bill and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to roll up our sleeves and get this done on a bipartisan basis. Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you, Mr. Espeon. Uh thank you, Mr.
▶ 0:54:54Chairman, ranking members, uh Chairman Cole, and Ranking Member Deloro. Um I rise in opposition uh to this bill. Um, I am deeply concerned about the cuts that are being proposed in this bill.
▶ 0:55:12Just a few weeks back, uh, I questioned the HUT secretary in this very same committee, uh, Secretary Scott Turner, and he agreed that there is a homelessness crisis in America and affordable housing emergency in America and that the rent is too damn high.
▶ 0:55:35But yet he to explain to us how he's planning to cut over 50% of the funding from HUD. So we have a homelessness crisis unprecedented in America, an affordability, housing emergency, and the rent is too high. Yet what we do now, what they what this administration will do is to cut by over 50% HUD.
▶ 0:56:04Despite just voting for to pass a bill that would increase the deficit by more than $3 trillion over the next decades, Republicans are insisting that we cannot spend additional dollars to meet the basic needs of America. Now, let let me just go over some of the cuts. Section 8 rental assistance will face a $3 billion cut. Public housing will face a $440 million cut.
▶ 0:56:32Homeless assistance grants will be cut by $65 million. Lead hazard reduction in healthy health programs that will face a severe cut uh by $49 million.
▶ 0:56:46Uh in addition to that, the bill also cuts funding for legal assistance for prevention and enforcement for civil rights law, an 89% cut to the Federal Transit Administration, and a 91% cut to the f Federal Railroad Administration, crippling Amtrak and its network, including the Northeast Corridor. That's a national security problem.
▶ 0:57:13And so this is death by a thousand cuts. And so we cannot in our right minds support this bill. Currently the US has a shortage of more than 7.1 million affordable rental homes. For those that can't get into a home, nearly half of US renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent.
▶ 0:57:40In historically disadvantaged neighborhoods, there are neighborhoods that over 30% of the renters spend more than half of their income, over 50% of the income on rent. And 57,000 of my constituents in New York City public housing may face significant backlogs in capital needs update.
▶ 0:58:02Instead of addressing these issues, Republicans have introduced this bill that will create shorts for programs like section 8 vouchers, the public housing capital fund, and the home program, which help builds affordable homes. It would also prohibit hub from using funds to improve energy efficiency for new housing. This comes at a time when electricity prices continue to steadily increase.
▶ 0:58:31And while weather patterns have become more and more extreme, this bill will will hurt more than 7,000 people who rely on section 8 just in my district. It will do nothing to address the more than 100,000 New York New York students who reported being homeless this school year. A 100,000 kids in New York City reported to be homeless.
▶ 0:58:57The secretary of HUD agreed that there is a homelessness crisis, but yet he proceeds to cut HUD by 50%. And this bill provides death by a thousand cuts. That's why I encourage all my colleagues to vote against it and I yield back. Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. Quigley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Mr. Chairman, as you know, it is pleasure to work with you.
▶ 0:59:22I do appreciate your bipartisan efforts and I want to start by thanking you for maintaining funding for HAPWA and rejecting the elimination of the program proposed by the Trump administration. It's still underfunded based on need and increased costs, but I'm grateful for the funding. I'm also appreciative to see that you rejected the creation of a state rental assistance program in deep cuts to rental and homeless assistance again proposed by the Trump administration.
▶ 0:59:50However, I'm very concerned about the cuts and inadequate funding of the bill. I know my colleagues have highlighted various funding streams cut in the bill and these harms will and the harms these cuts will cause. But I want to highlight three cuts that are particularly problematic. Cutting rental and homeless assistance programs by 7% at a time when homelessness and rents are skyrocketing. This will force the eviction of thousands of HUD assisted households.
▶ 1:00:18Just this morning, one of my constituents, Tamara Clark, visited my office to share how a section 8 voucher had transformed her life and the life of her grandchildren. I would like unanimous consent to submit her story for the record. But I would uh just want to share just a few lines. Quote, I was on my own. I had just survived cancer and I was living with a disability. The only way I could afford stable housing was through a section 8 voucher.
▶ 1:00:48That apartment gave me more than a roof over my head. It gave me the security, independence I need to rebuild my life. A few years in, my grandchildren needed me. Their mother, my daughter was going through a difficult time and I couldn't take care and couldn't take care of them. I didn't hesitate. I stepped up as any grandmother would.
▶ 1:01:08And with the help of a housing choice voucher, I gave my grandchildren stability, a routine, and Over time, her daughter got back on her feet and was able to take her children back. Tamara moved into a smaller apartment, but she stressed that she and her innocent grandchildren would have been on the street without the help from this bill. Under this bill, tens of thousands of people like Tamar will be forced onto the streets.
▶ 1:01:35In addition to cuts on the demand side, I am deeply concerned about the deep cuts into the housing supply side. This bill eliminated funds for pro housing, which is a program that has started incentivizing cities and localities to reduce zoning and land use barriers to build more housing. This is about cutting red tape. We have a shortage of 5 million homes in the US which is driving up the price of housing and leaving it out to and leaving it out of reach for millions of families.
▶ 1:02:05We have to remove barriers to build. In the same vein, the bill eliminates the home program which is the sole federal program dedicated to the construction of affordable housing. Again, we're in a housing emergency. We need every tool in the toolbox to produce preserve more housing to lower costs. Cutting home and pro is extremely short-sighted because it will increase rents and reduce the impact of vouchers. Bottom line, the HUD budget is8% of the federal budget.
▶ 1:02:34Cutting it will not reduce the devastating deficit. In fact, cutting funds or housing will increase government spending when people end up in jails and ERS. We are in a housing crisis. Ask any mayor or governor in any state. On the transportation side, this bill continues to make important investments in our air traffic controller workforce. This investment will continue our mission towards fully staffing air traffic controller towers around the country, including O'Hare Airport in my district.
▶ 1:03:04However, I do have concerns this bill does not make the same and equally critical investment in the FA's research, engineering, and development programs. In addition to increased staffing, our aviation system desperately needs to modernize its equipment and invest in research for the future. This bill falls short of that goal. Much like last year's THUD bill, this bill continues the unacceptable trend of using bipartisan infrastructure law money as a replacement for annual appropriations.
▶ 1:03:34The bipartisan infrastructure law was meant to build an annual appropriations funding, not replace it. In doing so, we are not modernizing our transportation system and completing long needed infrastructure projects. We are merely treading water to cover basic needs. For these reasons, Mr. Chairman, I respectfully cannot support the bill at this time. Thank you. I thank the gentlemen. Uh are there any other members who wish to be heard on the on the bill?
▶ 1:04:05Are there any amendments? Seeing none, I'd now recognize Miss Bice for the purpose of making a motion. Mr. Chairman, I move the bill be favorably reported to the full Question is on the motion. Those in favor say I. Those opposed, no. No. Opined chair. The eyes have it. Motion's agreed to. Gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Clber. I request a recorded vote. Recorded vote is requested. Those favoring a vote uh a recorded vote will raise your hand. A sufficient number having raised their hand.
▶ 1:04:36Uh, a recorded vote is ordered. The clerk will call the role. Mr. Aguular, Mr. Aguular, no. Mrs. Vice, Mrs. Bice, yay. Mr. Sisammani, Mr. Sisammani, yay. Mr. Klyurn, Mr. Klyber, no. Mr. Cole, Mr. Cole, yay. Miss Deloro, no. And I want to thank the guests who are there where they talk about housing cuts kill. So, thank you. Thanks for being here today. Thank you, Mr. Deloro. No. Mr. Espay, no. Mr.
▶ 1:05:05Espayot, no. Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Gonzalez, yay. Mr. Joyce, Mr. Joyce, yay. Mr. Quigley, Mr. Quigley, no. Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers. Yay. Mr. Rutherford. Mr. Strong? Mr. Strong? Yay. Mrs. Torres? Mrs. Torres? No. Mrs. Watson Coleman? Mrs. Watson Coleman? No. Mr. Wac? Hi. Mr. Wmac. Yay. Mr. Zeni. I Mr.
▶ 1:05:35Zeni I members who have not recorded a vote and wish to be recorded. Any member wish to change their vote? Clerk will tally
▶ 1:06:16On this vote, the A's are nine, the nays are seven. The bill is favorably reported to the full committee. I ask unanimous consent that staff be permitted to make technical and conforming changes to the bill and report without objection. So order copies of the bill and report with the technical and conforming changes be delivered to the full committee members offices no later than three business days before the full committee. I want to thank everybody for being here tonight. Uh that concludes this markup.
▶ 1:06:45This committee now stands adjourned.