Ranking Member DeLauro Remarks: FY27 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee Markup

-- Remarks as Delivered --

Thank you Chairman Womack, Ranking Member Clyburn. And my friend Chairman Cole, always good to be with you.

Let me say a thank you to the staff. Christina Monroe, Nora Faye, and Jacke Kilroy on the minority side, and Doug Disrud, Avery Pierson, Andrew Giacini, Mary Beth Pavlik, Heather Campbell, and Alexandra Mandewo for the majority. We are all so grateful for the hard work you put in to this effort which helps us to do our work.

Before I begin my comments, I want to acknowledge Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. It is the last subcommittee markup for T-HUD and what a privilege it has been to work with you over the years, and I mean that very sincerely. When the chair calls on you, and you stand up, I know always it is going to be direct, right to the point. You do not pull punches. You have been such an advocate for housing, for equality, for making sure people have what they need and understand that there is so much we can do as members, and you really understand that in your bones.

And helping vulnerable communities have a roof over their heads, in this Committee today. I look forward to our work together. And you said something very special to me last night when I thanked you for speaking up and it is very personal. You said, “I always have your back.” And I know that and I can’t tell you how proud I am that you are there, and I thank you for always having my back. You are a dear, dear wonderful friend. Thank you.

I oppose the bill under consideration today because it does nothing to bring down the rising costs that confront American families each and every day. In fact, by slashing funding for programs that help families who are struggling to stay afloat amid rising costs, this bill makes the problem even worse. 

At a time when the rising cost of living – it is not a hoax, affordability is not a hoax -- and a shortage of affordable housing are pushing more and more people out on the street, this bill proposes to slash critical assistance that helps families keep a roof over their heads.

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

I was evicted, at nine years old. Went home on a Friday night, and all of our possessions were out on the street. It wasn’t because my mother and father were dogging it. They worked hard all of their lives and were financially challenged all of their lives, but they just couldn’t make it. And so we lived with my grandmother until we were able to get back on our feet. So I know what it feels like to be evicted.

These cuts include the complete elimination of funding that addresses lead-based paint hazards in nearly 700,000 low-income housing units, which have been deemed at risk of lead exposure.

This bill cuts funding that supports vulnerable people who are living without homes. By slashing Homeless Assistance Grant funding by $256 million, this bill rolls back aid for the more than 771,000 people experiencing homelessness, and will prevent tens of thousands of people from getting off of the street and into stable homes.

That is a one-two punch in funding cuts. First, they slash the program that helps people afford housing. Then after they are pushed out on the street, 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. 

The rising cost of housing means more people are having to make longer commutes to and from work, as the distance between a decent-wage job and an affordable home is getting wider and wider.

But instead of investing in our transportation infrastructure to 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 halting ongoing projects designed to eliminate transportation deserts and expand public transit.

When you account for the funds raided from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this bill cuts 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 infrastructure is an economic engine. It connects our communities, and extends prosperity. As costs are rising and jobs are waning, we cannot afford to isolate ourselves by failing to invest in our infrastructure.

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.