[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6735-6736]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND MILITARY 
         CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS BILLS

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I am pleased that today the Senate 
passed two annual spending bills--Transportation, Housing and Urban 
Development, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs--and 
approved funding to combat the Zika virus.
  Senators Collins, Reed, Kirk, and Tester worked hard to craft good, 
bipartisan bills with no ideological, partisan policy riders.
  They have reminded us of the way we should do business here in the 
Senate.
  I was proud to support both bills when they were considered by the 
Appropriations Committee in recent weeks and proud to support them 
again today.
  I am pleased that the bill includes long-overdue funding to fight 
Zika. The bill does not provide the full amount of funding that our 
health and infectious disease experts say they need, but it does 
provide a good down payment of $1.1 billion.
  We must do more, and we must do it now, in order to protect pregnant 
women nationwide.
  This bill builds on the surface transportation bill, the FAST Act, 
that Congress passed last year that provides funding over 5 years for 
rail and highway infrastructure.
  Illinois rail lines are at the center of our national transportation 
network.
  In 2014, 5 million people boarded or exited trains in Illinois, 
giving residents a safe, affordable option when traveling.
  The bill supports rail options by providing strong funding for 
Amtrak, including $1.42 billion for the national network.
  It increases funding for TIGER and Core Capacity Capital Investment 
Grants, which supports transportation improvement projects across 
Illinois like the CTA's Red Purple Modernization project to provide 
more commuter passenger rail options to people in Chicago.
  The bill also funds important rail safety programs across the 
country.
  First-time funding for passenger rail grant programs authorized in 
the FAST Act will address gaps in supporting and growing our nation's 
passenger rail infrastructure.
  Rail line relocation and grade crossing enhancements will reduce 
accidents and improve passenger safety in Illinois and around the 
country.
  Nearly 1.1 million barrels of crude oil are hauled on our nation's 
railroads every day. Last year's derailment in Galena, IL, highlights 
the need to invest in rail safety.
  The bill continues funding for Positive Train Control programs and 
supports the Safe Transport of Energy Products Program.
  There is always more work to be done. According to the American 
Society of Civil Engineers, America scores a D in investment in roads, 
transit, and aviation and a C-plus in rail.
  This bill is a good start. This bill not only invests in our 
transportation infrastructure, but it also invests in our housing 
infrastructure.
  I want to thank Senators Collins and Reed again for their efforts to 
address lead-based paint hazards in our Nation's low-income housing.

[[Page 6736]]

  Since Flint, we have learned that exposure to lead, be it through our 
drinking water or paint in our homes, is still a major problem in 
communities across Illinois and the country.
  We have also learned that, when government shortchanges our 
infrastructure because of opposition to commonsense protections and 
draconian spending cuts, families suffer the consequences.
  In the case of Flint, local and State government was the problem, and 
now, it, along with Federal Government, have to be part of the 
solution.
  And the provisions in this bill can help us do that. This bill 
requires HUD to update its standards to the CDC's blood level standard, 
which is currently four times the CDC level. It improves tenant 
awareness and education of the lead-based paint hazards. And it 
provides a modest increase in funding for the identification and 
remediation of lead-based hazards found in federally assisted housing.
  These are all good things, and they will go a long way in addressing 
the government's abysmal and embarrassing record in dealing with this 
problem, which has led to far too many children living in federally 
subsidized housing suffering from lead poisoning, including one family 
in Chicago. Lanice Walker's 4-year-old daughter was diagnosed with lead 
poisoning less than 5 months after her and her family moved into a home 
subsidized by a Housing Choice Voucher.
  But Lanice Walker was not able to move without the risk of losing her 
voucher because her daughter's blood lead level, which was two times 
the CDC level, didn't meet the standards under HUD regulations. It 
wasn't until all nine of her children had elevated blood levels and 
legal advocates intervened on her behalf before she was granted 
permission to move.
  This is unacceptable, and we must do more to protect children in 
affordable housing before they become poisoned by lead. We must ensure 
that lead-based paint hazards are properly identified before a family 
moves into a unit. We must update all outdated lead regulations using 
the most recent science and enforce them. And we must adequately fund 
programs designed to identify and eliminate lead paint hazards.
  I hope that our efforts today are just the beginning of our 
recommitment to addressing our lead epidemic.
  The Senate also approved the Military Construction and Veterans 
Affairs appropriations bill, which provides a $3.1 billion increase 
above fiscal year 2016 enacted levels.
  This funding will support a wide variety of projects to ensure the 
military readiness and quality of life on military bases within the 
United States and around the world.
  It provides $70 million for Arlington National Cemetery to ensure 
that the final resting place for our servicemembers is well maintained.
  The bill ensures that we provide for our Nation's veterans and their 
families, those who have sacrificed so much over the years and deserve 
our gratitude.
  The Veterans Benefits Administration will receive $2.8 billion more 
than last year to help the VA modernize its claims processing as well 
as help reduce and eliminate backlogs.
  Forcing veterans to wait months and sometimes years to get the 
benefits they deserve is unacceptable.
  The bill increases funding for critical programs and emerging needs, 
including hepatitis C treatment, whistleblower protection, as well as 
family caregiver support.
  For years, I have championed the caregivers program in Congress, so I 
am pleased that this program is a priority in this bill.
  Hundreds of veterans and their caregivers in Illinois and more than 
23,000 nationwide participate in this program, with much success.
  The bill increases medical and prosthetic research funding by $44 
million compared to fiscal year 2016, at $675 million. These funds are 
critical to continuing our national commitment to medical research and 
will help our veterans that return home with both the physical and 
mental wounds of war.
  The number of veterans using VA services is dramatically increasing 
as the population ages. The VA provides more care for veterans now than 
ever before, and more of these veterans and their families have 
increasingly critical needs.
  I would also like to take a moment to address an amendment I offered 
that was included as part of a managers package.
  My amendment directs the Secretary of the VA to spend at least $21 
million to fill critical staffing shortages in VA leadership at 
networks, medical centers, and health care systems across the country.
  At least three dozen key VA leadership positions are currently filled 
by acting or interim directors, sometimes for years at a time. In my 
home State of Illinois, for example, Hines VA Hospital has not had a 
permanent director since 2014.
  Permanently assigned leadership that is capable of overseeing and 
managing networks and medical centers is critical to delivering high 
quality care to our Nation's veterans in a timely fashion, especially 
at a time when the VA faces a number of challenges.
  This funding will help the VA prioritize filling these key positions, 
as well as address staffing shortages in other management and clinical 
positions, including in rural and underserved areas.
  It is my hope that this funding will allow the VA to quickly fill 
these important positions within the Department.
  I am glad to say that overall, moving this bill is good for our 
Nation's military and their families.
  I hope today's action by the Senate is another step in the direction 
of passing all 12 appropriations bills, all without ideological riders.
  I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to continue to 
work with us in a bipartisan manner to pass additional appropriations 
bills without ideological riders.
  I would also like to urge my colleagues to quickly send these funding 
measures to the President. Zika funding is needed now.

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