Ranking Member DeLauro Statement at the Full Committee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2027 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Funding Bill

WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Committee's markup of the fiscal year 2027 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies bill:

Thank you Chairman Cole, Chairman Womack, and Ranking Member Clyburn.

Thank you, I think it is the hallmark of this committee that despite any kinds of differences we may have, the working relationships and partnerships, I think are exemplary and it is an honor for me to serve with all of you.

To the staff: Christina Monroe, Nora Faye, and Jackie Kilroy on the minority side, and Doug Disrud, Avery Pierson, Andrew Giacini, Mary Beth Pavlik, Heather Campbell, and Alexandra Mandewo for the majority, it doesn’t happen without you guys so thank you very much.

I am opposed to the measure we are considering this evening. It fails to bring down the high costs that are confronting American families each and every day. By gutting funding for programs that help the working class, middle class and vulnerable Americans, this bill makes the cost of living crisis even worse. 

Affordability is not a hoax – it is a real problem that families are struggling with every single day. The cost of housing keeps climbing, pushing more and more people out on the street. And yet, this bill proposes to slash critical assistance that helps families keep a roof over their heads.

By slashing funding for Public Housing by $1.3 billion, this bill will cause cuts to rent and utility payments for some 2,700 housing agencies across the country, it will put hundreds of thousands of low-income households at risk of eviction.

Eviction is something no family should ever have to endure. It is a devastating trauma that leaves a lasting impact on anyone who experiences it. I would know – my family was evicted when I was nine years old. We returned home on a Friday evening to find all our belongings laid out on the street. 

My parents worked hard to make ends meet, they were not dogging it. They struggled financially all of their lives. And as hard as they worked, sometimes it just was not enough. I remember this experience; we went to live with my grandmother until my folks could get themselves back on their feet. It is not an experience I would wish on anyone, least of all the honest, hard-working American families who are just trying to get by as costs keep rising and rising.

This bill eliminates funding that addresses lead-based paint hazards in nearly 700,000 low-income housing units, which have been deemed at risk of lead exposure. While the Trump administration pays lip-service to “Making America Healthy Again” they are forcing hundreds of thousands of low-income families to continue being exposed to lead paint.

This bill cuts funding that helps people who are homeless get the support they need to get back on their feet. It slashes Homeless Assistance Grant funding by $256 million, rolling back aid for the more than 745,000 people experiencing homelessness, and preventing tens of thousands of people from moving off the street into stable homes.

That is a one-two punch in funding cuts. First, it cuts affordable housing programs, pushing more people out of their homes and onto the street. Then, it scales back assistance for people without homes. The message is clear: costs are going up, and you are on your own.

Meanwhile, the bill retreats from efforts to address the affordable housing crisis by gutting investment in programs like HOME that increase the supply of affordable housing. NeighborWorks, which provides the funding backbone for nearly 250 local organizations that construct and rehabilitate affordable housing in every state, is cut by over 20 percent. 

As housing costs climb, more and more people are forced to make longer commutes to and from work, as the distance between a decent-wage job and an affordable home gets wider and wider.

But instead of investing in new transit systems that extend economic opportunity far and wide, this bill raids funds from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and zeroes out funding for new transit capital investment grants. This means interrupting active projects that are designed to make it easier and more affordable for people to get around.

When you account for the funds raided from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this bill slashes funding for the Federal Transit Administration by 92 percent. It cuts funding for the Federal Railroad Administration by $1.5 billion – 84 percent – including funding for Amtrak’s National Network and Northeast Corridor. And it eliminates all new funding for the Federal Highway Administration.

Transportation is an economic engine. Highways, bridges, railroads, bus routes; they connect our communities and create prosperity. As costs are rising and wages are stagnant, we cannot afford to isolate ourselves by failing to invest in better transportation.

Throughout the country families are struggling to stay afloat as the cost of living keeps climbing and climbing. Instead of extending a lifeline, this bill cuts off support.

I encourage my colleagues to oppose the bill before us today, and negotiate, on a bipartisan basis, to craft a bill that meets the needs of the American people.

Thank you and I yield back.

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