[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 102 (Monday, July 11, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. DENNIS A. CARDOZA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 8, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2354) making 
     appropriations for energy and water development and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and 
     for other purposes:

  Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Chair, I rise to strike the last word.
  Mr. Chair, I rise today to object to the offset in the Energy and 
Water Development Appropriations Bill that rescinds all unobligated 
funds for the High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail program. This is 
funding that has been appropriated by Congress and awarded to worthy 
projects. Pulling it back now would break our commitment to our state 
partners, and cause costly delays for these job-creating infrastructure 
projects.
  In opposing this bait-and-switch to high speed rail funding for our 
states, I am in no way discounting the need for emergency disaster 
relief for our friends in the South and Midwest who have survived 
catastrophic flooding and tornadoes this spring. Additionally, I've 
consistently been a champion of deficit reduction, believing firmly 
that we need to pay for what we spend.
  However, I rise today to call attention to the absolute charade the 
majority is engaged in of requiring cuts to vital infrastructure 
investments to offset the cost of emergency spending. When this body 
appropriated funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, no other 
community was made to suffer. When this body appropriated funds for the 
victims of the California wildfires, no other community was made to 
suffer. When this body appropriated funds for the victims of the 
wildfires in Arizona, no other community was made to suffer. Yet, 
today, on the floor of this House, we are being asked to make a choice 
between one suffering community and another, for no reason at all.
  Mr. Chair, I've come to the floor of this House numerous times 
explaining the dire economic situation facing my constituents. The 
foreclosure rate in my district is almost double the national average; 
three of the top ten cities in the country with the highest foreclosure 
rates are in my district. My district is home to three of the top ten 
communities with the highest unemployment in the nation. We have some 
of the highest poverty rates and lowest per capita income and 
educational levels in the nation. As if that weren't enough, the San 
Joaquin Valley also has some of the worst air quality in the nation. In 
a nutshell, there is no area in the United States that cries out for 
job-creating infrastructure investments more than my district.
  Yet despite this incredible need, this bill proposes to eliminate 
$386 million dollars of funding for two rail infrastructure projects in 
my district, resulting in the elimination of over 10,000 direct jobs 
and an untold number that could be created by private economic 
development around the train stations. Further, recalling this funding 
would hobble a project that will ease traffic congestion and help to 
improve the air quality of my district. And this bill, for the first 
time, cuts funding for a regional and national priority in order to 
provide emergency relief. It is simply unconscionable to subjectively 
and maliciously force one community to suffer due to natural disaster 
somewhere else. It is simply unconscionable to make disaster relief for 
one region of the country come at the expense of a region that has been 
struggling for years due to the economic downturn. It is unconscionable 
and because of that, I urge my Colleagues to vote no on this bill.

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