[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 133 (Thursday, July 29, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E848-E849]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION, AGRICULTURE, RURAL 
   DEVELOPMENT, ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL SERVICES AND 
   GENERAL GOVERNMENT, INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, 
  VETERANS AFFAIRS, TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2022

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 27, 2021

  Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
4502, the Seven Bill Appropriation Minibus for Fiscal Year 2022.
  This critical bill is a massive down payment on the promises we have 
made to the American people. After years of disinvestment in our 
infrastructure, reductions in health care spending, and limits on 
climate research, after 18 months of a devastating pandemic from which 
nearly all of our communities continue to struggle, this bill 
represents a chance to create good jobs, secure our safety net 
programs, and address the impacts of climate change.
  The bill makes a massive investment in working families. It provides 
a $20 billion increase for high-poverty schools and a $3 billion 
increase in funding for special education programs. The bill 
dramatically expands funding for early childhood education and 
childcare. It continues our commitment to expanding access to higher 
education by increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $400, dramatically 
increasing funding to expand higher education opportunities, including 
TRIO programs and GEAR UP, and increasing funding for Teacher Quality 
Partnerships and other higher education programs. The bill also 
provides $106 billion for SNAP and includes provisions to ensure that 
SNAP will not run out of money and families will continue receiving 
benefits throughout the year.
  I am proud to see the dramatic increases in funding for key health 
care priorities and to address long-standing health disparities and 
inequities. First and foremost, this bill finally,

[[Page E849]]

after 45 years, repeals the racist, anti-woman Hyde Amendment to ensure 
that women are able to access abortion regardless of their income or 
where they live. The bill also provides a massive boost in funding for 
Title X Family Planning Services and for Teen Pregnancy Prevention 
Program, to ensure that these science-based, cost-effective programs 
continue to provide critical health and wellness services. In addition, 
the bill continues to increase our investments in life-saving research 
and public health infrastructure, including $49 billion for the 
National Institutes of Health, $10.6 billion for the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, $1 billion in new flexible funding to 
improve the public health infrastructure, $1.8 billion for Health 
Centers, which includes a nearly l000 percent increase in funding to 
$50 million for school-based health centers.
  The bill makes a significant investment in our crumbling 
infrastructure while creating new jobs and ensuring that we finally 
address the climate crisis. In particular, it provides $105.7 billion 
to invest in transit passenger rail, airports and highways and provides 
$250 million to ensure those investments also reduce our admissions, 
benefit communities too often left behind, and increase the climate 
resiliency of our infrastructure. The bill also doubles investments in 
passenger and freight rail and promotes safety through investments in 
transit state of good repair and expanded transportation safety and 
inspection workforce. Finally, after the House passed an amendment I 
offered, the bill will provide $6 million in grants for security and 
maintenance at 9/11 Memorials and Museums. Taken all together, these 
investments will create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs 
and help our economy continue to recover and grow.
  Access to housing remains a major concern in New York, and this bill 
will take some steps so that more New Yorkers are safely and affordably 
housed. The bill expands housing choice vouchers, or Section 8, to help 
125,000 more individuals and families find affordable housing in their 
community and ensures that all 4.8 million families currently receiving 
housing assistance can stay in their homes. The bill also matches my 
request for $600 million for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with 
HIV/ AIDS (HOPWA), a $170 million increase, so that New York City and 
other major cities do not face a massive funding cut this year. I am, 
however, very disappointed the bill provides just $3.4 billion for 
public housing capital needs, which is not even enough to cover the 
massive repair backlog at NYCHA alone. As I have said many times 
before, the ongoing underfunding of public housing capital needs is not 
sustainable for NYCHA or other large public housing agencies. I am 
committed to working with my colleagues in the New York Delegation and 
across Congress to address this concern as quickly as possible.
  In addition to all of these critical investments, the minibus funds 
eight critical community projects in my district, totaling over $9.2 
million in direct funding to NY-10. These projects include a new 
Parenting Center at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, elevator 
repairs at Harborview Terrace Housing Development, expansion of mental 
health and substance abuse program at the LGBT Center, and funding for 
the Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center. I am proud to be 
able to deliver this funding and bring new jobs, better health 
outcomes, and improved financial stability back to my district.

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