Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Mr. Chairman, before we move onto the bill before us, I want to begin by offering my heartfelt sympathy and support to the passengers and families affected by Amtrak train 188 last night. The devastation is massive and the images, many of which were captured by our former colleague Patrick Murphy, are horrifying. As investigators continue to piece together the series of events that unfolded, this Committee must be committed to provide whatever assistance necessary to ensure safety aboard passenger rail systems.

Now as to the bill before us, once again, I want to congratulate Chairman Diaz-Balart on completing his first bill as the Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee. He has been open and accessible throughout this process and receptive to concerns that subcommittee Members have raised. It has been a pleasure working with him.

I want to congratulate Chairman Diaz-Balart on completing his first bill as the Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee. He has been open and accessible throughout this process and receptive to concerns that subcommittee Members have raised. It has been a pleasure working with him.

As I stated at the Full Committee markup of the 302b allocations, the allocation for the transportation and housing appropriations bill is woefully inadequate. Despite the increase over last year's allocation, the reality is that once you factor in declining FHA receipts and increased Section 8 renewal costs, this bill is actually $1.5 billion below last year's funding level. The Chairman was dealt a very difficult hand, and as a result, we are not investing enough in our housing and transportation infrastructure to maintain it, let alone expand it.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I'd like to congratulate Chairman Diaz-Balart and Ranking Member Price in their new roles as chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee, and I thank them and full committee Chairman Rogers for their work.

The Chairman has worked very hard to be attentive to the concerns of members, and I want to sincerely thank him for working with me to highlight grade crossing safety in the aftermath of the horrible Metro North crash that killed six people in February. Through your assistance, I hope that we will be able to increase public awareness of the dangers at active grade crossings and to require States to be more proactive in addressing the most hazardous crossings.