Mike Honda: “I thank the ranking member for yielding. I thank Chairman Culberson, who worked with me and my staff to formulate a…”

“I thank the ranking member for yielding. I thank Chairman Culberson, who worked with me and my staff to formulate a better bill. While there are areas that could still be approved in the CJS bill, I am thankful for the chairman's bipartisan attitude and desire to find common ground. Lifting the budget caps, we were able to more fully fund many of the essential programs. I would like to highlight a few of these. I was pleased that we were able to dedicate funds for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation to fund one competitively chosen center and to provide coordination of funding for NIST. The modest increase for the Minority Business Development Agency will allow them to expand their work, creating jobs and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship amongst minority-owned businesses. In the 2020 Census, we ensure that all communities--including those that are small, rural, or have limited proficiency with English--are counted. The rider making the American Community Survey optional was dropped. We boosted funding for DOJ grant programs important to communities across the Nation, such as COPS, Violence Against Women Act, and Byrne Justice Assistance Grants. I am proud the community sexual assault kit Backlog Reduction Program, which is making great inroads in my district, receives $45 million. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we were able to fund NASA at the highest level in years.…”