[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 100 (Friday, June 29, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1181-E1182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 26, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under

[[Page E1182]]

     consideration the bill (H.R. 5972) making appropriations for 
     the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban 
     Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2013, and for other purposes:

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 5972. While 
this is not a perfect bill, it will fund important transportation and 
housing projects creating well-paying jobs across this country.
  I am pleased that this bill provides a much-needed increase to 
Amtrak, which will greatly help Amtrak accommodate growing ridership 
and develop intercity passenger rail. It also continues to invest in 
the FAA's NextGen air traffic control modernization effort, which will 
help to keep our public airspace safe and reduce flight times. The 
Community Development Block Grants program is also fully funded helping 
local governments to address housing and social service issues unique 
to their communities. It also fully funds the Veterans Affairs 
Supportive Housing program, providing the nearly 70,000 homeless 
veterans with long-term housing when they need it.
  However, I want to express my deep disappointment that this bill does 
not provide any funding to high speed intercity passenger rail or the 
TIGER program. Both of these programs have proven to be successful and 
play an integral role in bringing our infrastructure in to the 21st 
Century. At a time when you have labor and business--the U.S. Chamber 
of Commerce and AFL-CIO--calling for stronger investment in our 
infrastructure, it is shortsighted that we not provide this necessary 
funding. We cannot continue to compete with our neighbors abroad if we 
are not improving and growing our infrastructure. My colleagues in the 
House, on the left and the right, have called for a jobs package and 
this funding could have been that first step.
  I am disappointed at the lack of funding for critical housing 
programs. This bill drastically cuts funds to the Project-Based Section 
8 voucher program that provides rental assistance to approximately 1.2 
million low-income families. Furthermore, there is no funding for 
programs that would help rebuild blighted communities. Not only would 
eliminating blight and rebuilding neighborhoods create jobs, but they 
would also rejuvenate communities in areas like Southeast Michigan that 
were hit so hard by the collapse of the housing market and the economic 
recession.
  Taken as a whole Mr. Chair, H.R. 5972 will make needed investments in 
our transportation and housing infrastructure, but more must be done. 
As our bridges, roads, sewers, buildings, and neighborhoods crumble, we 
cannot afford to underfund critical programs that rehabilitate and 
rebuild. We cannot move in to the 21st century with 20th century 
investments. I call on my colleagues to pass a strong surface 
transportation reauthorization that will fix this oversight of needed 
funding and put Americans across the country back to work bettering our 
neighborhoods and communities.

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