[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 41 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2270-S2271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Appropriations

  Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote--how soon, 
unclear--but soon vote on an appropriations package which, among other 
bills, includes one from the Transportation, Housing, and Urban 
Development Subcommittee, which I chair. I want to take a moment to 
talk about what is in it and why it matters so much.
  The United States is experiencing an unprecedented housing shortage.

[[Page S2271]]

Homes are increasingly out of reach for so many families and 
individuals, and homelessness continues to rise to record levels. There 
is no question that the Federal Government must act.
  No appropriations bill--especially one negotiated under difficult 
spending caps demanded by House Republicans--is going to solve our 
decades-long housing problem. But what this bill does is provide 
funding for rental and homelessness assistance for millions of 
Americans.
  It also provides $100 million for the Yes in My Backyard Program, 
which will incentivize building housing and eliminating exclusionary 
zoning policies that have long kept housing supply down.
  The bill also includes funding to modernize transportation and make 
it safer and more accessible. It fully funds the Federal Aviation 
Administration so that it can staff up and maintain a world-class air 
traffic control system.
  Also included is the funding for the Federal Railroad Administration, 
which, in part, will help to improve rail safety in the wake of the 
East Palestine train derailment.
  Crucially, the bill provides vital funding to improve Tribal housing 
and transportation infrastructure, including more than $1.3 billion for 
the NAHASDA Native-American Housing Block Grant Program. That is a 
record increase for Tribal housing of more than $300 million, which 
will help Tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians build affordable 
housing in their communities and address their unique and urgent 
housing needs.
  As always, these bills are the product of a lot of hard work and 
patience, especially from our excellent staff. That has been 
particularly true this year. They have worked so hard--long, long 
hours. When we make a deal, the work begins. Whenever we decide that we 
have consummated our deal, they don't get to say: Look, I am in the 
middle of a kid's baseball game or I am at a doctor's appointment or I 
am on a run or I just woke up. They have to get to work and draft the 
legislation. So lots of them have spent a lot of sleepless nights. My 
staff, the Republican staff on the T-HUD Committee, our House 
counterparts, all of the people in leadership on both teams, everybody 
worked their butt off to make this possible. I just want to appreciate 
them.
  I also want to take a moment to thank Ranking Member Cindy Hyde-
Smith, the subcommittee members, as well as our counterparts in the 
House--Representatives Cole and Quigley--who worked in good faith 
throughout the process to get us here.
  There is a lot more that we need to do to invest in housing and 
transportation around the country, but this bill funds enormously 
important priorities and projects that so many Americans rely upon. It 
is essential that we pass it, along with the rest of the bills.
  We have a deadline of tomorrow night at midnight. I am confident that 
we will make that deadline, but we have got to run this thing across 
the finish line.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kaine). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The majority leader.

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