Celia Israel: “The gentlewoman notes that it is the taxpayers' money. She is right, it is the taxpayers' money. Taxpayers expect that…”

“The gentlewoman notes that it is the taxpayers' money. She is right, it is the taxpayers' money. Taxpayers expect that their money will be spent safeguarding their infrastructure. They expect that their money will be spent on maintenance, maintaining their infrastructure. They expect that their money will be spent making sure that when they turn on the faucets in Flint, Michigan, toxic water doesn't come out. They expect that if they have health problems, they will be able to get some monitoring and that their health will be taken care of. They expect us to spend their dollars wisely. As I said before, Mr. Chairman, this is not a perfect bill. But the chairman is correct, this bill adheres to the law. While we would say we are not investing enough, and while the chairman would say we are investing about what we have, the gentlewoman's amendment would actually force us to do much less with even less. Those are not priorities we can support, Mr. Chairman, which is why I urge my colleagues to join the chairman and our ranking member in opposing this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn). The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the noes appeared to have it.”