John Garamendi

Congress should also provide low-cost Federal financing loans that would be repaid with interest.

This past January, I reintroduced my bipartisan Clean Water State Revolving Fund Parity Act with Congressman Bost.

This is a rather important hearing, considering where the appropriation process is going.

Kill it. Get it done.

There is a little matter out there about Buy America, a 1983 waiver that was granted by the then Transportation Department, that is still in place.

We are going to pressure you on those things, the TIFIA for airports, yes.

You are doing one hell of a job.

The reality is, we are making progress.

You provided us with key information that we needed, and now you are into the implementation stage.

I want to make sure that FEMA is providing communities at-risk from wildfires with every tool possible to avoid or mitigate the loss of life, property, and environmental impacts from wildfire and other natural disasters.

I very, very much appreciate the task that you are doing and the extraordinary importance of it.

Can you push the money out, or is that money now being allocated for the disaster recovery?

We will never be able to deal with disasters unless we continue to press for mitigation.

You have got a tough job, Ms. Criswell. You really, really do.

May I inquire as to how much time is remaining. The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from California has 3 minutes remaining. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has 30 seconds remaining.

That was a most interesting argument presented by our colleague. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

You cannot control your destiny.

I think part of the reason the reporting hasn't happened is that Congress hasn't acted.

If we could spend the next 18 months looking at this issue and coming with a proposal that is not based upon the most recent hot button emergency.

Mr. Perry, thank you. Thank you for holding the hearing, necessary, and we need to continue this.

It appears as though when we deal with the national emergencies, we are usually dealing with an issue that is red hot at the time.

There appears to be a glitch. It would seem to me that we would be useful to use our time to delve into this glitch.

I suppose consistency is the hotgoblin of a small mind.

There are plenty of problems. There is a formal process for whistleblowers to have their issues adjudicated.

I find it most interesting during our break to vote. The majority, including some Democrats, voted to express support for law enforcement officers and condemning efforts to defund and dismantle local law enforcement agencies.