[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18566]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRANSPORTATION-HUD APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, for the information of our colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle, I would like to explain the situation we 
face. First, let me say that working very closely with the ranking 
member of the subcommittee, my friend and colleague Senator Jack Reed, 
we have been making very good progress on this bill.
  We have a number of amendments offered by Senators from both sides of 
the aisle that we have agreed to work out, to clear on both sides, with 
both managers of the bill. In some cases we have also gotten to the 
authorizing committees, the Budget Committee. In other words, a great 
deal of hard work has gone into clearing amendments that are ready to 
be considered, that could be accepted by voice vote or unanimous 
consent or in a managers' package. I am confident because of this 
bipartisan cooperation, because of the extraordinarily hard work of our 
staffs, that we could finish this appropriations bill today.
  Would that not be progress for the Senate, to be able to complete 
action on a bill that has vital funding for homeless veterans, for 
homeless youth, for disabled and low-income elderly who depend on the 
subsidized housing programs that are funded in this bill? This bill has 
important infrastructure spending. All of us are aware of the 
deteriorating infrastructure, the crumbling roads and structurally 
deficient bridges that we have in this country, the need for 
improvements in rail safety, in our transit system.
  There are so many issues that are important to the American people. 
This bill funds the Community Development Block Grant Program, possibly 
one of the most popular programs with State and local officials for 
spurring economic development and job creation in their communities, 
but, alas, we have encountered a roadblock. As we have seen this 
morning, even amendments that have been cleared on both sides of the 
aisle are not being allowed to proceed. I think that is so unfortunate 
because with cooperation I am confident we could have finished work on 
this bill and moved to final passage today. Regrettably, that is not 
going to occur unless there is a change of heart.
  I do want to say I recognize there are other very important issues 
for us to deal with. The House today is taking up a bill that would 
deal with the screening process for refugees who come into this 
country. All of us recognize that our first obligation is the security 
of the American people. That is not what the bill before us is dealing 
with, but there is action on the House side. A bill is expected to pass 
today with widespread bipartisan support and will be sent over for our 
consideration. So I think it is unfortunate that we apparently cannot 
complete action on the appropriations bill that is before us.
  However, I do want to assure my colleagues that we are going to 
continue to work on this bill. We are going to continue to review the 
amendments that have been filed. We are going to work with the 
sponsors. We are going to work with the floor managers. We are going to 
continue to make progress behind the scenes in the event that we find a 
way around this roadblock.
  In the meantime, I do want to express my appreciation to my ranking 
member, Senator Reed, for his close cooperation on this bill. He and I 
introduced the substitute amendment jointly when we began work on this 
bill. A special thanks to our staffs who have been working night and 
day to clear amendments that are ready go but unfortunately cannot be 
considered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. REED. Madam President, this whole process has been moved forward 
by the leadership of Chairman Collins. She and her staff have done an 
extraordinary job of taking the additional resources made available by 
the budget agreement and constructively focusing them towards 
addressing important policies in transportation and housing in the 
United States.
  As Chairman Collins discussed, we have about nine amendments--
bipartisan amendments--that have been agreed to that focus on housing 
and transportation issues exclusively. These amendments also display 
the give-and-take and back-and-forth that is necessary, the compromise 
that is necessary. One example is the amendment that Senator Cornyn, 
along with Senator Harry Reid, proposed that dealt with small airports 
throughout the United States.
  Those are the types of issues that should be the focal point of our 
deliberations on the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development 
appropriations bill, and that is what we have tried to do. Frankly, 
under Senator Collins' leadership, we were moving forward, but we have 
run into a bit of an impasse. We are going to continue to work because 
it is critical to the country that we rebuild our infrastructure and 
make sure that we have adequate, affordable housing, which is key to so 
many things--to having a job, to holding a job, to children being in a 
school for the whole year and not moving from school to school. All of 
these are tied directly to our efforts here today.
  I again compliment the chairman for her extraordinary efforts. The 
staffs have done a superb job. We will continue to work. Our objective 
is to get a bill done and move forward in the process. Unfortunately, 
we have hit this bump, but we are still going down the road.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.

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