Katie Porter: “Mr. Chairman, my good friend and colleague from Arizona said that he has the most heavily impacted congressional…”

“Mr. Chairman, my good friend and colleague from Arizona said that he has the most heavily impacted congressional district in America. I have, perhaps, one of the most heavily impacted school districts in America with the largest naval training facility in the world at Great Lakes as part of my district. Impact Aid is very important to this Member personally, as well as very important to a number of Members in the House of Representatives and to most of our States. Mr. Chairman, we have done everything we possibly can to raise funding in this area. In 1996, we provided $693 million, and in 1998, we provide $796 million, a $100 million increase. We have increased section (f). We have increased construction. The President suggested $4 million for this account; we are raising it to $7 million, almost double what the President has suggested. Mr. Chairman, the amendment would quintuple the appropriation for construction in a single year and would represent more than a sixfold increase over the President's request.”