▶ 0:20:19Chair Collins: Welcome to order. Good morning. Today, the appropriations committee will consider two more fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills. The interior, environment, and related agencies legislation, and the transportation, housing and urban development, and related agencies bill, better known as thud.
▶ 0:20:54Chair Collins: We will vote on these two bills. After those votes, the chairman of the relevant subcommittees will discuss and present their bills, and we will move to consider any amendments. I'm hopeful that we can continue to build on the work that we have considered and reported for appropriations bills with strong bipartisan support.
▶ 0:21:21Chair Collins: I'm grateful that leader thune is on his commitment to bring appropriations bills that we report to the senate floor in a timely fashion. This week, we will have the opportunity to consider our joint efforts and indeed have voted to proceed to consideration of the v.a. Bill, to which we hope to attach additional bills.
▶ 0:21:51Chair Collins: Now, with regard to the funding bills before us today, we will first consider the interior, environment, and related agencies bill. This bill provides resources for the management of public lands while fostering development for critical energy programs.
▶ 0:22:12Chair Collins: It supports tribal programs across all 50 states, helps ensure americans have clean air, clean water, and clean soil, and provides federal firefighters with the tools they need to prepare for and suppress wildfires.
▶ 0:22:33Chair Collins: This bill also protects our national parks system, which generates nearly 75 billion dollars annually in economic impacts, including three quarters of $1 billion generated by maine that protects the acadia national park. This appropriations bill protects our federal and private forests against invasive species, such as the eastern.
▶ 0:23:07Chair Collins: It will help the forest service in states including maine, vermont, new hampshire, michigan, minnesota, and wisconsin, protect the forests against damaging forest insects. I commend chair murkowski and ranking member merkley for working together to write a bill that protects the important investments in these areas.
▶ 0:23:35Chair Collins: Second, we will consider the transportation housing and urban , development bill. I served as the lead republican on the t on the t.h.u.d. Subcommittee for years. I'm glad to see the collaboration and cooperation under the outstanding leadership of chair hyde-smith and ranking member gillibrand.
▶ 0:24:07Chair Collins: Our high priority of modernizing our nation's air traffic control system and investing in our air traffic control workforce. While this committee has historically provided robust funding to help the faa staffing shortages at our nation's air traffic control towers, even greater investments must be made.
▶ 0:24:33Chair Collins: The tower at bangor international airport in maine, for example, has been woefully understaffed for several years now. It consistently ranks at the bottom of the list of staffed faa towers, and it is currently staffed at less than 50% of its required level.
▶ 0:24:58Chair Collins: The bill before us provides critical resources to the faa to help hire an additional 2500 controllers. Additionally, it invests in critical upgrades to the equipment and the infrastructure, technology, upon which our air traffic system relies, and prioritizes safety investments are crossed -- across all modes of transportation.
▶ 0:25:25Chair Collins: The bill also provides funding to have safety in communities, addresses critical transportation and infrastructure needs, from our highways and bridges to railways and ports. Despite a challenging fiscal environment, the bill also ensures that 4.6 million families, from maine to hawaii, can continue to have access to h.u.d.'s rental assistance
▶ 0:25:55Chair Collins: Program. It tackles the system of homelessness, especially for our nation's youth, and helps spur the creation of desperately needed affordable housing. It includes $1.25 billion for the home program. These funds often work in tandem with the low income housing tax credit to increase the supply of affordable housing. Especially in rural areas.
▶ 0:26:26Chair Collins: I know that housing finance agencies across the country joined main housing in supporting these funds. Again, I think chair hyde-smith and ranking member gillibrand for their efforts in writing this bill. Both of these bills before the committee today are bipartisan, member driven products.
▶ 0:26:53Chair Collins: Their chairs and ranking members have worked collaboratively and in an outstanding manner to produce the bills before us today. I just want to emphasize one final point, and it has to do with the input that we receive in drafting these bills.
▶ 0:27:16Chair Collins: Combined across these two subcommittees, 89 senators submitted more than 85 hundred requests to the subcommittees for consideration. This committee's ability to produce legislative products inc. Many requests from both sides of the aisle remains steadfast. I would now like to recognize vice chair marie for any comments she would like to make.
▶ 0:27:46Sen. Murray: Thank you very much, chair collins, and they get to senator murkowski and senator merkley, and senator hyde-smith and senator gillibrand from our fed subcommittee leaders, for working so hard and working together to hammer out two bipartisan bills.
▶ 0:28:03Sen. Murray: May not have been the bills I would have written on my own, certainly I would love to see a few investments in accountability measures, but these bills are a serious bipartisan compromise that rejected many of the truly harmful because that trump and house republicans are pushing for and maintained crucial programs to help make sure folks back home have a roof over their heads, safe, reliable transportation, and clean air and water.
▶ 0:28:31Sen. Murray: In the interior bill, we were able to put together a bill that protects public lands and national parks, invest in fighting wildfires, help live up to our obligations to tribes, and invest in critical work protecting our environment and our families. In the t.h.u.d.
▶ 0:28:46Sen. Murray: Bill, we were able to address the housing crisis, reject cuts to rental assistance programs, to make sure millions of families have a roof over their heads, and invest in transportation infrastructure across the board, including a much-needed increase to hire more air traffic controllers.
▶ 0:29:07Sen. Murray: These are worthwhile investments, and they show what is possible if we work together and exactly why a bipartisan process is a better path for everyone than the drum bill -- trump bills house republicans seem intent on writing or another slush fund of cr.
▶ 0:29:28Sen. Murray: He may want to have congress on track for a shutdown, but we on this committee can reject that partisan vision that hurts working families everywhere, and we can reject the painful cuts and policies they are trying to inflict on our communities just as these bills do. In fact, I think most of us here recognize that we have to reject that path, because at the end of the day, passing spending bills here -- funding bills here in the senate takes 60 votes, and that means the trump vote path is choosing a dead end and a shutdown.
▶ 0:29:58Sen. Murray: I won't pretend the work ahead is going to be easy. I think every one of us knows compromise means doing hard work, making hard choices, and it requires trust, something that unfortunately continues to be chipped away at. I hope that trajectory can be reversed, and I look forward to more discussions on each of the bills before us today. Thank you.
▶ 0:30:18Chair Collins: Thank you, vice chair murray. I would now like to recognize the vice chair for the second or
▶ 0:30:37Sen. Murray: Madam chair, I moved to report the bill favorably for the department of interior environment and related agencies for the fiscal year end that there were 30th, 2026, and for other purposes and an original bill making appropriations for the department of transportation, housing, urban development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2026, and for other purposes, provided each bill be subject to amendment and any men that increasing budget authority be offset by a reduction of equal or greater budget authority and provide further the chairman of the committee or subcommittee
▶ 0:31:07Sen. Murray: Reporting the original bill be authorized to offer the substance of the original bill at the committee amendment and the nature of the substitute.
▶ 0:31:18Chair Collins: Without objection. I understand we have a quorum present. We will now vote to record the first bill, as the bill making appropriations for interior environment and related agencies subject to amendment. The clerk will call the roll.
▶ 0:31:34Chair Collins: [roll call] on
▶ 0:33:06Chair Collins: This boat, there are 24 ay-- vote, there are 24 ayes and two nays. The motion to report the bill favorably is agreed to. We will now report on the transportation, housing and urban development, and related agencies bill. Subject to amendment. The clerk will call the roll.
▶ 0:33:31Chair Collins: [roll call] >>
▶ 0:34:51Chair Collins: Chair collins?
▶ 0:34:52Chair Collins: Aye. On this vote, there are 25 ayes and one nay. The motion to report the bill favorably is agreed to. We will now turn to consideration of the interior bill, and I want to thank the subcommittee leaders for working together and producing a strong bipartisan bill, and I also want to express my gratitude to their staff.
▶ 0:35:21Chair Collins: I would now like to recognize vice chair murray, if you would like to come further on the bill.
▶ 0:35:25Sen. Murray: Thank you very much, and thank you to chair murkowski and ranking member merkley for working together on this really important bipartisan bill. When it comes to protecting our public lands, this bill provides critical funding for our national parks and forest service and rejects the paltry level trump put forward as well as the house republican level.
▶ 0:35:45Sen. Murray: It prevents our national parks from being sold off and ensures our federal firefighters will not face a t cut, and it fully funds welfare prevention and -- wildfire prevention and protection paired when it comes to our tribes, we were able to produce $12 billion for tribes, rejecting trump efforts to cut our tribal safety schools and advanced appropriations for the indian health service. It fully funds of tribal sovereignty payments.
▶ 0:36:17Sen. Murray: This bill also protects clean water and air programs and continues vital cutting edge research to protect families health and well-being, which is under threat today. Now, no doubt, there is more I would like to do here, but this is a solid bipartisan bill. It will sustain critical programs to protect family health, and I will be voting yes.
▶ 0:36:35Chair Collins: I will now turn to the subcommittee leaders to present their bill, and we will begin with chair murkowski.
▶ 0:36:46Sen. Murkowski: Thank you, chair collins, and vice chair murray, for keeping this important vital appropriations process going forward. I know it has been kind of a long slog this past month. There is stuff that could derail a good process, but I think your commitment and your leadership directing us has really brought us to a good place, so I am very appreciative of that as well as your continued and collective
▶ 0:37:16Sen. Murkowski: Desire to proceed in a bipartisan manner with this committee. And in that spirit of bipartisanship, I'm really pleased to be able to be here as we are marking up the interior, environment, and related agencies appropriations bill. I would like to thank my colleague in this, senator merkley, with what I think was a strong, thoughtful bill that can pass this in on a bipartisan basis.
▶ 0:37:45Sen. Murkowski: This is a trust building exercise, and we have worked together with our staff, and I appreciate that greatly cute overall, this measure includes 41 point $5 billion for the department of interior, the epa, the forest service, the indian health services, and the arts. Our bill targeted strategic because to meet commitments to tribes, develop a resources, care for our public lands, fight wildfires, and provide for clean air, water, and soil.
▶ 0:38:13Sen. Murkowski: We all say that there is never a perfect bill, and ours is certainly not perfect. There are things that we have included that perhaps I would not have, and I think vice chair murray -- merkley would agree with that, but there's a lot of middle ground here in constructive areas where we have chosen to focus.
▶ 0:38:37Sen. Murkowski: As has been mentioned, we go a long way toward fulfilling our responsibilities to indian country, with funding for the bia, bie, an indian health service could we maintain advanced appropriations for ihs, they include full funding of tribal payments and contract support payments. While we also provide very strategic increases in the areas of law enforcement, public safety and justice, community and economic development, health care, and probate. We protect our public lands.
▶ 0:39:08Sen. Murkowski: I hear a lot from colleagues about the national park service and making sure that the park service can continue to be there for those of us throughout this country and continue to help generate hundreds of billions of dollars in annual economic output, endless opportunities to enjoy the great american outdoors. We also find the usgs, the fish and wildlife service, blm, other bureaus.
▶ 0:39:36Sen. Murkowski: We strike a balance between energy production, conservation, and recreation. Within the epa account, we provide for clean water and revolving funds within the epa, maintaining these at 2025 level could I think the cuts within the epa account were made thoughtfully and very carefully to ensure that the agency is going to continue to provide environmental protections and remediation programs that help our states, localities, and tribes in their efforts to have
▶ 0:40:06Sen. Murkowski: Clean air, clean water, and clean soil. Within interior, we also have the arts, and so we demonstrate our support for the arts within this measure. We all know that the smithsonian institution, the holocaust museum is going to see a small increased educational programs, which we think are essential at this time of rising anti-semitism.
▶ 0:40:33Sen. Murkowski: And in the forest service, the bill ensures forest service and doi has the services needed to prepare for and respond to devastating wildfires, providing nearly $4 billion for suppression efforts while enabling the forest service to continue to support the timber industry and research including those to manage against invasive species. I think I heard from just about everybody on invasive species here. We also go beyond just programmatic funding.
▶ 0:40:59Sen. Murkowski: We put in place some guardrails such as incorporating detailed tables by reference. I don't know if it is the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end, but for those who have been working these interior matters for some time, we are certainly one step closer to being able to advance these priorities for our country, our regions, and our states.
▶ 0:41:24Sen. Murkowski: So I want to thank my colleague, senator merkley, and his team, melissa, ryan, richey, and anthony come as well as my own team, darrell, sarah, anna, everybody puts in considerable work, and we appreciate them greatly. I appreciate member support of this measure. Thank you, madam chair.
▶ 0:41:42Chair Collins: Thank you, chair murkowski. Senator merkley is now recognized for any remarks that he may have.
▶ 0:41:48Sen. Merkley: Thank you very much, chair murkowski. We have not changed our close partnership, working together on partnerships integral to the stewardship of public lands, the health and likelihood of tribal communities, healthy and productive forests, human health, clean water, clean air.
▶ 0:42:08Sen. Merkley: The movement today is to protect funding, operating our public lands, including essential funding for the operation of the national park service, the national forest system, the national wildlife system, and the national conservation lands. It includes language that requires public run agencies to maintain staffing levels to carry out important missions such as protecting important natural resources, maintaining access and recreation for visitors, conducting tribal consultation, maintaining infrastructure, and providing
▶ 0:42:40Sen. Merkley: Information to stakeholders and the public. I would like to think we actually don't need provisions required for staff to carry out essential activities, but at this moment in the national conversation, I think these sort of provisions are important in this bill. The administration has produced a 24% cut of the national parks service since taking office, and doing so without a detailed plan that was presented and consulted with congress, and that has concerned me about the operation of our national park units.
▶ 0:43:12Sen. Merkley: It is important that our national park units remain in the national park system, and that is an important response the administration's request to spin off those portions of our national park system, and I must say, these are, we call them units -- these are treasures. Treasures that every one of our states, that our citizens love and want to see us maintain well and pass on to the enjoyment of the generations to come.
▶ 0:43:43Sen. Merkley: I support this bill because it provides targeted resources for tribal programs. It promotes funding for wildfire operations and wildfire related staffing. There are things in this bill that I don't particularly like, including some legacy writers, but we worked together to make sure there are not new controversial policy writers in this bill, and I think that is part of the partnership that will enable us to go forward on a bipartisan basis.
▶ 0:44:14Sen. Merkley: As chair murkowski mentioned, this is not the exact bill she would have written, nor the exact bill I would have written, but that is kind of the point of the bipartisan work in the appropriations committee, that no side gets everything they want. They bring different visions from their home state and from the perspective and work it out, and that is what we have done. Balancing priorities and making trade-offs and keep the government working for the american people in a cost-effective manner.
▶ 0:44:44Sen. Merkley: We have not had a rescissions package under the 1970 four empowerment control act for the last 30 years until recent weeks, and that is partly because of the bipartisan work that this committee does and this committee has stuck by in defending. And I certainly would like to see us be able to sustain that effort.
▶ 0:45:05Sen. Merkley: I'm really pleased to see us moving this bill forward, knowing that there is more bipartisan consideration to be done on the floor of the senate and conversations with the house. There are areas I would like to have ready by myself, and if I had a magic wand, I would be investing more, more and epa's research arm to help keep toxic chemicals out of our air, water, and soil, more for repairing maintenance on our public lands, more in modernizing the health
▶ 0:45:35Sen. Merkley: Care system for our tribal communities, and more investing to confront the extreme threat of climate chaos in our drinking water from our wildlife, our forests commando ecosystem, and certainly one feature that in the west are the wildfires. We have 70 large wildfires burning as we sit here at this moment. We have six major wildfires burning in my home state of oregon, including the largest in the country.
▶ 0:46:04Sen. Merkley: 30,000 wildfires burning 2.9 million acres. So I would like to see us invest more in forest management, and it has a dual benefit. It makes before forest more fire resilient and often improves the ecosystem at the same time. As a wing when can bring people together -- that is a win-win that can bring people together. Thank you very much, chair murkowski.
▶ 0:46:26Sen. Merkley: It has been a pleasure working with you over the past few years, and my team has really enjoyed working with your team. My team, zimmerman, ryan hot, anthony, and richie, and on senator murkowski's team, aaron smith, sarah, aaron field, they lost a lot of sleep, and I know they will look forward to a little bit of rest in the days to come. And then they will be back on work preparing as we try to move these bills forward to the floor.
▶ 0:46:54Sen. Merkley: So, again, thank you very much for your partnership, and thank you, chair collins and vice chair murray, and I yelled back.
▶ 0:47:01Chair Collins: Thank you, senator merkley. We have now been joined by senator hoeven and senator fischer, who I know were at other committee meetings.
▶ 0:47:14Chair Collins: I would like to give each senator, if they wish to do so, to be recorded on the votes that we took to favorably record both the interior bill and the t.h.u.d. Bill. Senator fischer, would you like to be recorded, and if so, how?
▶ 0:47:36Sen. Fischer: Thank you, madam chairman, yes, please report me as a yes on both the bills. Thank you.
▶ 0:47:40Chair Collins: Thank you. Without objection, you will be reported as voting yes to favorably report both bill. Senator hoeven?
▶ 0:47:51Sen. Hoeven: Medicare, yes, please report me as president and favorably on both the t.h.u.d. And interior.
▶ 0:47:59Chair Collins: Without objection. Some of the updated votes on these two bills, on the interior bill, there were 26 ayes and two nays. The motion to report to go favorably as agreed to. On the t.h.u.d. Bill, there are 27 ayes and one day. The motion to report the bill favorably is agreed to.
▶ 0:48:32Chair Collins: Senator murkowski, would you like to bring for the manager package? I know senator reed is on a very tight timeframe, and I would turn to him after.
▶ 0:48:42Sen. Murkowski: Thank you. This package has been negotiated and agreed to by both sides, and I ask that it be adopted by unanimous consent.
▶ 0:48:51Chair Collins: Are there any objections? Without objections, the managers package is agreed to. Are there members who wish to offer an amendment to this bill?
▶ 0:49:06Sen. Reed: Madam chair? Thank you. I have an amendment I would offer but also withdraw. I thank the chair and the vice chair for funding provided for the national endowment of the arts and humanities.
▶ 0:49:21Sen. Reed: The purpose of my amendment is to protect funding for state and local arts and cultural programs, supported by the national endowment of the arts and national endowment of the humanities, being siphoned away for the so-called heroes or garden of heroes, rather viewed as my colleagues know, congress has not authorized this sculpture garden. There is no design for it. There is no location for it. And there's no estimate for its final cause.
▶ 0:49:48Sen. Reed: Never the less, after holding funding and terminating federal grants, the administration now said it will pile 34 million dollars in neh and nea fiscal year funding into commissioning statutes for this project, robbing small local arts and civic organizations of resources.
▶ 0:50:10Sen. Reed: It should be acknowledged that for any dollar, it brings two dollars in private investment, creating a multiplier for any local economy. My amendment is to protect appropriate nea and in neh dollars, given the recently enacted reconciliation bill added $40 million for the garden of heroes.
▶ 0:50:34Sen. Reed: I oppose any taxpayer dollars on this project until congress authorizes it and until we get basic answers about where it will be and how much it will cost and who will it honor. Nevertheless, this amendment will not touch the $40 million set aside for this project already included in the reconciliation bill. Rather, my amendment would prevent the administration from hijacking funds appropriated by this committee for the nea and neh.
▶ 0:51:02Sen. Reed: We need to make sure that the nea and neh funds reach our state and local organizations. Everyone around this table has valuable community organizations that depend upon these funds, and they will be denied these funds. I'm sure that you will have a very extensive list him as I do, of projects that are worthwhile and important to the community.
▶ 0:51:28Sen. Reed: $40 million already committed through reconciliation is enough, in my view, for this unauthorized vanity project. I appreciate the additional accountability measures to ensure the committee is able to track the implementation of this investment, and with that, madam chairman, I will withdraw the amendment.
▶ 0:51:48Chair Collins: Thank you, senator reed. Are there other amendments to be offered? Senator heinrich.
▶ 0:51:59Sen. Heinrich: Madam chair, I would like to call up my amendment on minimum hiring requirements for the park service and forest service wildfire response.
▶ 0:52:07Chair Collins: Without objection.
▶ 0:52:12Sen. Heinrich: Madam chair, what deeply concerns me is that every time I go home for the weekend, I hear directly from public land employees about the bleeding of staff, through risk, through unlawful termination, through force requirements.
▶ 0:52:33Sen. Heinrich: And I am, at this point, incredibly concerned that this is leaving the park service without ent's, is leaving the forest service without a sufficient number of qualified firefighters, and I guess I would just charge all of my colleagues to just speak directly with rank and file, both park service and forest service employees right now. Because it is not the funding level, there is simply not the number of employees to execute at these forests and parks.
▶ 0:53:07Sen. Heinrich: My amendment would require the department of the interior and the forest service to hire and maintain a workable, minimum number of full-time employees in order to actually be able to manage wildfire preparedness, suppression, and other mission-critical support. It would require the park service to hire and maintain a minimum of full-time employees for the successful operation of national park units. The agencies would effectively be required to maintain no less than the number of full-time employees that were employed at the end of fiscal year 2020.
▶ 0:53:38Sen. Heinrich: That was the final year of the trump administration, when they still had a workable workforce. What I'm hearing on the ground is deeply concerning, and I should say a thank you to both chair murkowski and ranking member merkley for the work that they've done on this bill.
▶ 0:53:59Sen. Heinrich: I think they did a remarkable job under difficult circumstances, but I do think we need the work force to be able to actually execute on the bills that they've written.
▶ 0:54:12Chair Collins: Senator murkowski.
▶ 0:54:15Sen. Murkowski: Thank you, madam chair, and thank you, senator heinrich. You and I share the same concerns. I think everybody around this table wants to make sure that our national parks are well managed, and we have the staffing that is needed, not just during the surge of the summer season but year round.
▶ 0:54:37Sen. Murkowski: And certainly, when it comes to the forest service and the reality of what it takes to not only manage our forests on a year-round basis but to deal with some of the pressures that we are seeing now. Senator merkley spoke to the level of fire activity in his state alone.
▶ 0:55:01Sen. Murkowski: Those of us in the west know this to be a frightening reality, and it requires men and women that are there, that the agencies are funded and funded properly, with appropriate staffing levels.
▶ 0:55:16Sen. Murkowski: The concern that I have with this measure is not unlike what was raised at a prior subcommittee mark, where we are pegging staffing to a certain point in time. We have amended the bill to address staffing to provide the agencies with the adequate funding to execute their missions.
▶ 0:55:42Sen. Murkowski: And so, after a long process and trying to work to get to a point where I think we could agree on a bipartisan basis that we were at good levels, know that it is something we need to be paying attention to come and I commit to you, and I'm sure that senator middle senator mi merkley does as well commit to you and others that we will provide the oversight of these agencies to make sure that they are properly staffed, they continue to operate not only
▶ 0:56:15Sen. Murkowski: Efficiently and effectively about the way that we would all expect. Believe me, I have been in dialogue with folks in the agency, the secretaries themselves, and we will continue to monitor this aggressively. But I appreciate your concern. I would oppose the amendment, because of the artificial, basically the date that you have included in your amendment, by that I certainly appreciate the direction you are seeking.
▶ 0:56:45Chair Collins: Vice chair murray.
▶ 0:56:47Sen. Murray: Thank you, madam chair, and I really want to thank senator heinrich for offering this amendment to require adequate staffing for our public lands. Secretary burgum said all parks will be open this summer at full capacity. You need to know that has not happened. The park service has lost one-quarter of its permit staff since this administration began.
▶ 0:57:12Sen. Murray: This means an hour park -- in our parks, trash is piling up, public safety is at risk right now during this peak visitation time. And as has been stated, we are in the middle of an increasingly intense wildfire season, in this administration has gutted the forest service workforce. Thousands of experienced, full-time employees have been forced out, fired outright, pressured to resign, or left with no job security.
▶ 0:57:41Sen. Murray: These are really unforced errors. There was no plan, no transparency, no real assessment of what this would mean on the ground. And we also need park rangers and we need support staff. We need them to fight wildfires, we need firefighters and support staff when those wildfires have been. That is why he senator heinrich's amendment is so important. All it does is that a clear standard.
▶ 0:58:07Sen. Murray: The federal government must maintain at least as many personnel as were employed in these roles in september 2020. That is, as he said, the tail end of president trump's last administration. I just hope this committee can't agree this is a baseline that is reasonable, that we expect the park service to provide pete I want to say I do strongly support this amendment, and I encourage my colleagues to vote yes.
▶ 0:58:30Chair Collins: Are there other members seeking recognition on senator heinrich's amendment? >> madam chair, I would ask for a reported vote.
▶ 0:58:46Chair Collins: The gentleman has that right, and the clerk will call the roll. [roll call]
▶ 1:00:02Chair Collins: >> chair collins?
▶ 1:00:06Chair Collins: No. On this vote, there are 14 ayes and 15 nays, and the amendment is not agreed to. Are there other members who wish to offer an amendment to this bill?
▶ 1:00:31Chair Collins: Seeing no further amendments, the bill will be reported as amended. We now turn to ■consideration of the t.h.u.d. Bill. The subcommittee has worked together and produce a very strong bill, and I want to thank all of the subcommittee members, particularly the chair and ranking member and their staff, for working to prepare this bill for this markup.
▶ 1:01:01Chair Collins: I made my comments on the bill at the beginning, so I will now recognize the vice chair, if she would like to comment further on the bill.
▶ 1:01:08Sen. Murray: Thank you very much to chair hyde-smith and ranking member gillibrand for your work together to put a bill together that makes it crucial investments in infrastructure and our families. I would like you to do more to address the housing crisis. I will not stop pushing for that. But I'm glad to see this bill rejects president trump's proposed cuts to rental assistance that would have put 10 million people at risk of infection, mostly kids, seniors, and people with disabilities.
▶ 1:01:38Sen. Murray: This bill does deliver funding to make sure no one is kicked out of their home and keeps families stably housed, and that is very important. It also rejects cuts to fair housing enforcement, increases funding for academic -- economic self-sufficiency programs, and increases funding to help prevent homelessness and help those experiencing it. In other priority for this president, for whatever reason, would like us to do less not, not more.
▶ 1:02:03Sen. Murray: When it comes to transportation, this bipartisan bill includes a much-needed increase for faa to higher air traffic controllers, modernize equipment, and more. It also invests in highway safety, real safety, pipeline safety, not to mention investment in our ports and our shipyards.
▶ 1:02:21Sen. Murray: Rejects trumps cuts to essential air services that would have cut off many of our small and rural communities, and it rejects the house republicans proposal to slash capital investment grants by 98%, and, of course, rejects trumps trump'plan to eliminate bill grants, a program I helped launch. It supports major construction projects in our country.
▶ 1:02:44Sen. Murray: Overall, this is a very solid compromise bill that protects work in all of our state, and I appreciate the work that went into it.
▶ 1:02:51Chair Collins: I will now call upon the subcommittee leadership to present their bills, and we will begin with chair hyde-smith.
▶ 1:03:01Sen. Hyde-Smith: Thank you, chair collins, for your leadership, your commitment for so many years on this committee come along with vice chair murray, to report this bill out of committee for consideration for the full senate. I also want to thank ranking member gillibrand. I appreciate the hard work and collaborative attitude that you and your staff have demonstrated throughout the bill writing process to achieve a very strong bipartisan product.
▶ 1:03:26Sen. Hyde-Smith: The fiscal year 2026 transportation, housing and urban development, and related agencies appropriations bill. It is fiscally responsible while adhering to the budget restraints that this committee must operate within.
▶ 1:03:44Sen. Hyde-Smith: The bill includes 26.5 billion dollars for d.o.t., $73.3 billion for h.u.d., and 424 million dollars for several independent agencies, which include the national transportation safety board and the federal maritime commission. The funding provided in this bill aligns with the fy 2020 four enacted levels and adheres to the subcommittee's allocated amount for fiscal year 2026.
▶ 1:04:12Sen. Hyde-Smith: Despite changes and open ended mandatory spending items required to be funded throughout the appropriations law if you, to be clear, ranking member gillibrand and I did not have infinite resources to work with, but we worked to stretch as much as we had as far as we could to carry out the essential functions of d.o.t., h.u.d., and related agencies, and we did, I believe, achieve our objective.
▶ 1:04:43Sen. Hyde-Smith: This year alone, the tragic midair collision over the potomac river and multiple air traffic control communication outages have underscored the urgency for congress to take decisive action on aviation safety. Our bill delivers on that call.
▶ 1:05:04Sen. Hyde-Smith: After meeting with the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic crash over the potomac earlier this year, we worked together to include $2 million for the national academy of sciences, to conduct an independent study to address the airspace complexities around the D.C. airport, so we can learn from the mistakes made and prevent similar accidents.
▶ 1:05:31Sen. Hyde-Smith: Further, the bill provides 22 point $4 billion in total resources for the faa. This includes $4 billion to fund the administration's request modernize our nation's air traffic system, to hire an additional 2500 new air traffic controllers and to hire an additional 91 safety inspectors and engineers to address the ongoing safety needs of the agency.
▶ 1:05:59Sen. Hyde-Smith: The bill continues to prioritize safety across all other modes of transportation as well. For example, 75 million dollars is provided for rail infrastructure and safety improvement grants, and the bill supports the safe integration of advanced vehicle technologies on our roadways.
▶ 1:06:18Sen. Hyde-Smith: The bill continues to see investments to improve our nation's transportation infrastructure, including $250 million for the build program, 300 $50 million for rural bridge rehabilitation and repair program, $75 million for port infrastructure development grants, and $30 million for grants to support small shipyards.
▶ 1:06:41Sen. Hyde-Smith: At the same time, the bill continues to fully fund existing rental assistance for more than 4.6 million households, to ensure that seniors, people living with disabilities, and working families who currently receive such assistance are not put at undue risk of homelessness.
▶ 1:07:02Sen. Hyde-Smith: Additional investments are made for ending youth homelessness, supporting victims of domestic violence, and developing more permanent supportive housing. The bill also provides $3.1 billion for the community development block grant,, development block grant, or the cdbg, which helps state and local governments promote economic activity and job creation. This bill also maintains funding for the h.o.m.e.
▶ 1:07:31Sen. Hyde-Smith: Program, which is a critical source of funding for increasing the supply of affordable housing. Given the broad range of programs and activities funded in this bill from highway safety to homelessness prevention, the subcommittee received and carefully considered nearly 5000 requests from 87 senators. The result is thoughtfully crafted appropriations bill that is responsible with taxpayer dollars while addressing critical priorities.
▶ 1:08:02Sen. Hyde-Smith: Again, I think ranking member gillibrand and her staff for all of her hard work and helping us get to this point, including the clerks, joe, rishaad, jessica, and kelsey daniels. I'm also grateful for my team, mike clark, jason, kam o'brien, and jake lynch as well as the staff led by valerie hunton, who were instrumental in assisting our team with this bill production, and also my staff, kendall moore and daniel oliver.
▶ 1:08:33Sen. Hyde-Smith: I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the fiscal year 2026 t.h.u.d. Bill. Thank you again, chair collins and vice chair murray, for convening today's markup.
▶ 1:08:44Chair Collins: Thank you, chair hyde-smith. Senator gillibrand, I know than senator coons is very eager to make some remarks, but senator gillibrand.
▶ 1:08:57Sen. Gillibrand: Thank you, madam chairwoman, thank you, vice chair murray, thank you for your leadership and support for this bill. I know why, madame chairman, you've chose to head the subcommittee for so long, because it has meaningful work. I know you are well versed in the importance of all the investments in this legislation and in our state. I want to thank chair hyde-smith for her excellent leadership.
▶ 1:09:26Sen. Gillibrand: She has been an extraordinary partnership, and I really enjoy working together. This bill is always popular by members of this committee and the entire senate, because it provides real benefits to all communities across america. It is a bipartisan bill that makes investments and shared priorities and critical needs.
▶ 1:09:42Sen. Gillibrand: As chair hyde-smith has already said, I'm glad to bill fully funds the faa, something that was imported to the chair and ranking member of this committee, to address challenges at airports in new york and throughout our country and to hire more air traffic controllers. The need for this funding was so unfortunately highlighted by the tragic crash in january. I want to thank the families of the victims in this crash who have been tirelessly advocating to make sure that this never happens again.
▶ 1:10:09Sen. Gillibrand: I'm glad we were able to include the independent study on caa airspace, which these families have asked to include. Others respiration highlights are fully funding amtrak's request for the northeast corridor, supporting the hudson tunnel and 2nd avenue projects, investing in safety and security of our transit systems, and supporting our future maritime security leaders by investing in our merchant marine academy.
▶ 1:10:38Sen. Gillibrand: I'm also proud that we fully funded renewals for assistance. It rejects the harmful cuts and changes proposed by the president's budget request and maintains assistant for over 10 million americans, most of whom are children, seniors, and people with disabilities who rely on these critical h.u.d. Programs. This bill also sustains targeted investments to support homeless veterans, youth, survivors of domestic violence, and expand affordable housing.
▶ 1:11:07Sen. Gillibrand: As ranking member of the aging committee, I'm deeply concerned by the fact that seniors are the fastest growing age group among people experience in homelessness. The bill helps our homeless response system adapts to the unfortunate reality that more and more seniors are experiencing. All across the country, we hear that it is too expensive to rent or buy a home. As a nation, we need to keep working together to increase the supply of affordable housing.
▶ 1:11:39Sen. Gillibrand: I'm extremely pleased that this bill maintains robust funding for the h.o.m.e. Program at $1.25 billion to build affordable housing. This isn't in addition to the over $400 million in affordable housing related projects requested by members directly. In my discretion, I tried to make sure our members requests for affordable housing was given. I also want to thank chair hyde-smith for working with me and I bipartisan manner to include provisions to make sure the appropriations committee can maintain its oversight of d.o.t.
▶ 1:12:05Sen. Gillibrand: And h.u.d., something I've heard a lot about for my colleagues, especially as it relates to grants and office closures and staffing. Overall, this addresses request from members of both sides of the outcome and I want to once again complement chair hyde-smith for working with me to write that is truly bipartisan bill. I also want to thank the t.h.u.d.
▶ 1:12:27Sen. Gillibrand: Staff, mike, jason, cam , jake, jessica, kelsey, joe, and brian on my staff, they worked really well together as a team on a bipartisan basis to meet the needs of all members. . I really enjoyed this partnership with chair hyde-smith, and I appreciate her dedication to getting this bill across the finish line. I turn it back to the chairwoman.
▶ 1:12:49Chair Collins: Senator coons.
▶ 1:12:53Sen. Coons: Thank you, madam chair. I briefly wanted to thank and commend chair hyde-smith and ranking member gillibrand. As a member of the subcommittee, I was concerned about how this bill might come together, given some of the proposals. As someone who commuted by rail every day, my first decade here, I know the importance of our having strong passenger rail systems.
▶ 1:13:17Sen. Coons: As a county executive who dedicated a lot of time to affordable housing and hears constantly from my constituents about the horrible housing, your sustained commitment to the h.o.m.e. Program, the cdbg, two rental assistance, is enormously beneficial.
▶ 1:13:41Sen. Coons: Lots of people don't recognize that this committee continues to function, continues to build strong bipartisan bills, and continuing to defend necessary investments in critical things like housing. Congratulations to the two of you and your staffs for crafting a truly strong bill. Thank you.
▶ 1:13:55Chair Collins: Thank you, senator coons. I will now turn to senator hyde-smith -- I'm sorry, senator moran.
▶ 1:14:07Simple Moran: --
▶ 1:14:10Sen. Moran: Thank you. I want to express my appreciation for many things in this bill, but I want to highlight one of them. Since january 29, the disaster of the air tragedy that occurred at reagan, we've paid particular attention to air traffic control and safety, and I also chair of the commerce committee, subcommittee, on aviation and space, and we are paying a lot
▶ 1:14:41Sen. Moran: Of attention to what we are doing in an authorizing way. But what this bill does is provide additional dollars. It c1 this fully funds the president's budget. It complements the $12.5 billion that was considered in reconciliation.
▶ 1:15:06Sen. Moran: I would also say that secretary duffy has been relentless to provide the necessary resources to update technology and air safety and air traffic control. This subcommittee recognizes the importance of that.
▶ 1:15:31Sen. Moran: On january 29, that was a seminal moment for me and others to not to overlook the importance of updating the necessary technology for every american and everyone around the world to fly safely in the united states. Thank you both.
▶ 1:15:51Chair Collins: Thank you. Are there any other general comments before we turn to the manager's amendment? >> thank you for this amendment. For those of us who represent states in this region, the situation at reagan national, the safety situation has been an ongoing concern.
▶ 1:16:22Chair Collins: Some of us voted against that reauthorization. I also look forward to working with secretary duffy.
▶ 1:16:35Chair Collins: Are there any other general comments on the bill? If not, I would turn to chair hyde-smith.
▶ 1:16:49Chair Hyde-Smith: I would like to offer this package for transportation, housing, and urban development. This package has been negotiated and agreed to by both sides. I ask that it be adopted by unanimous consent.
▶ 1:17:06Chair Collins: Are there any objections? Without objection, the managers package is agreed to. Are there any members who wish to offer an agreement to this bill? >> thank you very much. I am calling out my amendment regarding this exemption.
▶ 1:17:37Chair Collins: There are questions that have arisen during our previous discussion. Does this amendment blocked the type of rescission that we saw on the floor a couple of weeks ago? The answer is no. The package regarded earlier provided multiyear funding.
▶ 1:18:07Chair Collins: This would only affect the floor rescissions on things that are signed into law by president trump. Things we have agreed to on a bipartisan basis. It also leaves the door open for the things that we pass on a bipartisan basis. Even the things that president trump has signed off on. It still leaves the door open for rescissions but it says send them back to this committee.
▶ 1:18:39Chair Collins: The bills we have today both have rescissions in them. This is the place where rescissions should be considered. To tackle in a bipartisan way rescission decisions that we have previously passed of a bipartisan basis. This does not affect the immediate proposals.
▶ 1:19:11Chair Collins: We hope if we get additional packages from the president to go to the floor that they will be referred to this committee. This is separate conversation. This says that going forward if there are rescissions, they will be done in a bipartisan basis in front of this committee. I think it is very valuable.
▶ 1:19:43Chair Collins: To strengthen the president that has been -- precen has been -- precedent that has been established.
▶ 1:19:51Chair Hyde-Smith: Thank you. While I appreciate the discussion of this amendment initiates, the budget committee is a more appropriate venue for that debate. Given these concerns, I recommend that our colleagues vote against the amendment. >> I want to thank you for offering this amendment.
▶ 1:20:20Chair Hyde-Smith: This really is an important discussion. We had a good discussion last week. I think it is important to remember the principle of a deal is a deal in this committee should not let our bipartisan bills be undone later by a partisan proposal written by the white house. That seems to be common sense for this committee as a whole. I want to address the matter of jurisdiction.
▶ 1:20:49Chair Hyde-Smith: We actually did a bill on the rescissions on the floor last week. It was referred to this committee. The appropriations committee was then discharged from further action on the floor along with budget and every motion to readmit. Those are the facts. The budget committee also has a role.
▶ 1:21:19Chair Hyde-Smith: For that reason I think it is entirely appropriate for this committee to speak on this issue.
▶ 1:21:28Chair Collins: Are there others?
▶ 1:21:31Sen. Gillibrand: I want to speak in support of this amendment. I want to speak to my colleagues. There is a reason why past congresses did not do rescissions. There is a reason why we rejected rescissions for decades. It is because we work best on a bipartisan basis.
▶ 1:21:59Sen. Gillibrand: What we worked on together is a good bipartisan bill. You heard comments from others about how important tackling the homeless crisis is in this country. There is some a shared interest in this committee.
▶ 1:22:30Sen. Gillibrand: The national media in this administration wants to destroy that. You heard from the administration, I want less bipartisanship and spending. In appropriations. I don't know why we would allow anyone to take away our power.
▶ 1:23:02Sen. Gillibrand: You take away what is best about this body. What is best about our constitutional authorities. The reason why we have a balance of power in this country is we do not want anyone body to have too much power.
▶ 1:23:29Sen. Gillibrand: I just want to understand the administration is taking away your power to be bipartisan. Your power to heal the wounds that are happening across the nation. The divisiveness and the anger. I don't know why you would let anyone take away your power. This amendment is restoring the power of the person to the appropriations committee.
▶ 1:24:00Sen. Gillibrand: The work we do every congress is meaningful. It is so hurtful to take away that process because it takes away the process -- voices of our settlements. I remember the most impassioned speech you ever gave for you ever gave we talked about taking way minority rights. I was a junior senator. I was so moved by you insisting on the importance of the filibuster.
▶ 1:24:33Sen. Gillibrand: This administration wants to have many more. They will target the things that were bipartisan in this bill. Because they do not share the concerns we have for our constituents. They do not go back to our states every weekend and talk to the people who are suffering. They don't talk to homeless youth and veterans. When you allow for rescissions, you delete bipartisanship. You delete our power.
▶ 1:25:03Sen. Gillibrand: You delete the role of minority members of this body and it is just wrong. I want to support this amendment. I appreciate the time you gave me to talk about this. This goes to the heart of who we are as senators and who we are as a body and who we are as the balance of power that the constitution provided for. You should not let them take away your power willingly.
▶ 1:25:25Chair Collins: Are there other comments on this amendment? First let me make a couple of points. One is that I have always advocated for bipartisanship and more bipartisanship in this committee has lived up to that. Look at the votes to report the bill.
▶ 1:25:52Chair Collins: Even in this highly divisive atmosphere in which we are legislating. If you look at the bill before us and you look the bill that chair murkowski put forth, independent decisions were made in collaboration with the vice chair's each subcommittee.
▶ 1:26:19Chair Collins: The problem we have with this amendment, which would amend sections of the congressional budget control act of 1974, is that bill is under the jurisdiction of the budget committee.
▶ 1:26:44Chair Collins: Of which ironically the proponent of this amendment is the ranking member. That is where this amendment should be considered. I would also point out that I have encouraged the administration to work more closely with this committee on any rescissions it identifies.
▶ 1:27:15Chair Collins: This committee has rescissions in virtually every appropriations bill and has four years. The continuing resolution under which we are operating right now has 70 rescissions in it. They are not unusual.
▶ 1:27:40Chair Collins: What we need to do is ensure that they reflect the views of this committee. For that reason, because of jurisdictional reasons and the breath of this amendment, I urge that it be turned down. I do think it is an important issue. >> I will be brief. I appreciate what you have said.
▶ 1:28:23Chair Collins: I think that is appropriate. I want to acknowledge the words of my colleague because I feel very strongly myself that we do have this role. It is this power of the purse. How do we handle that?
▶ 1:29:09Chair Collins: I think we have about $91 million in rescissions my hope is that we do not see another rescissions package from the administration.
▶ 1:29:32Chair Collins: That they do allow us to do the important and necessary work that we are doing to identify those areas where we can find those reductions in spending. Do it smartly and fully informed. You may not have them in front of you but if you go through the materials that our committees can make available, we can identify to you those programs and exactly how they will be affected going forward.
▶ 1:30:04Chair Collins: That was the challenge I had with that last rescissions package. If we are going to do them, the way to do them is the way we are doing them here on a bipartisan basis. That is smart.
▶ 1:30:25Chair Collins: That is one of the reasons we had not seen a successful rescissions package from the white house for 33 years until this bill. Thank you.
▶ 1:30:35Chair Collins: Are there further comments?
▶ 1:30:40Sen. Gillibrand: May I respond? I don't want you to confuse the issues of the rescissions we do in our bills. Of course we add and take away money. What this amendment is about and what I'm talking about is putting a bill on the floor from the white house, from the administration, that is not negotiated on a bipartisan basis. Don't confuse the term.
▶ 1:31:11Sen. Gillibrand: It just means a take away. That is what the managers package is. I am well aware that this committee does rescissions every day. That is not what we are talking about.
▶ 1:31:37Sen. Gillibrand: This amendment prohibits the executive branch from using its authority to defer or rescind funding from the spill. Any changes to funding can only be made through future annual appropriations committees. We are in agreement. Our job is what we should be protecting.
▶ 1:32:02Sen. Gillibrand: He is saying that when we do rescissions, it should be done by our committee and are committee only. What happens politically is when the president says I want you to cut all of this money, sometimes people don't want to stand up to the president if they are the party in power. They just choose not to do that. It's not a fight they want to do. It takes away our entire job.
▶ 1:32:30Sen. Gillibrand: I don't want this committee to confuse this word. It is who is suggesting it in what context.
▶ 1:32:41Sen. Van Hollen: Thank you. I will be brief. I know you understand this. We have to resolve this issue before we are able to proceed through this entire process. You rightly said that the bills coming out of this committee are bipartisan.
▶ 1:33:06Sen. Van Hollen: But we can only take the trust everyone approach for so long. The administration rejected the idea that the only rescissions we can do are the ones we do in a bipartisan manner. They proposed another way.
▶ 1:33:40Sen. Van Hollen: This will have a chance on the floor of the senate. I would hope we would do that at that time. Otherwise we are facing an unacceptable situation. I will finally point out that the gao just made another finding today about in legal impoundment -- the legal impoundment. We should fight that as well.
▶ 1:34:14Sen. Van Hollen: We should not be doing them that way. Thank you.
▶ 1:34:19Chair Collins: I would like to turn to the vote. >> thank you very much. I am the ranking member on this project. So I've taken a very close look at this.
▶ 1:34:56Chair Collins: This amendment does not amend that. Let's say we lose that. We put forward a budget of order.
▶ 1:35:20Chair Collins: We have enough persuasion that we could sustain that waiver. If the argument is correct about jurisdiction, if I am wrong about the joint jurisdiction and we therefore end up having a
▶ 1:35:52Chair Collins: Waiver, we can decide to support the waiver. We do waive a lot of things on the floor. There is a dispute over joint jurisdiction. I'm sure you have researched it. That would only go to the budget committee.
▶ 1:36:26Chair Collins: There is no danger in defending the work we are doing today. I hope that happens. That we will as the appropriations committee no. Let's refer it back to this committee for action. This work only becomes law.
▶ 1:36:57Chair Collins: If the president signs it. As this conversation evolves, and I am trying to point out that I'm taking this out of the immediate partisan fulcrum of things. That can still be sent to the floor. This protects this appropriation going forward. Thank you.
▶ 1:37:25Chair Collins: The clerk will call the roll on the amendment. Senator mcconnell though snow by proxy. -- votes no by proxy. [roll call]
▶ 1:38:51Chair Collins: On this post there are 14 ayes and 15 nays. The amendment does not agree to. Are there further amendments to the bill? Seeing no further amendments, the bill will be recorded as amended.
▶ 1:39:15Sen. Murray: I want to thank chair collins and all of our colleagues for the work that may this markup possible. Our work continues to show that there is a real bipartisan path forward to pass government funding bills. When we go that route, we can come together to reject devastating cuts that hurt our communities and invest in programs that do make a difference for folks back home. Our work is not done.
▶ 1:39:42Sen. Murray: I look forward to marking up more bills soon. The path ahead is not easy. It is possible to get the stone. It is worthwhile to do this.
▶ 1:39:59Chair Collins: Thank you. I want to close this meeting of the appropriations committee by first taking a moment to again thank the members of this committee, particularly our chairs today and our vice chairs and their staffs for all of hard work. We have now recorded six of the 12 annual bills with strong bipartisan support.
▶ 1:40:29Chair Collins: I want to particularly thank vice chair murray. The committee plans to reconvene next week to reconsider additional appropriations bills and an announcement will be forthcoming. The meeting of this committee is now adjourned. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap.org]