Thanks to Representative Esty, a member of this Committee, the bill also amends the NSF Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship program to allow teachers in pursuit of master's degrees to participate in the program.

one of the ways we could rapidly change the face of what somebody who's in STEM looks like is to really aggressively look to place people with service in the military into the STEM fields.

I want to thank the Ranking Member and the Chairwoman for this important topic we're discussing today.

It's a crime actually that we are not providing our veterans with a better ability to transition to civilian workforce.

I hope we can have an opportunity, have a separate hearing on those critically important issues.

Veterans in Connecticut do not understand the criteria VA uses to judge their claims.

Our goal should be getting our veterans back on their feet and productive members of society.

Because, again, we know that the amount of money and time that goes into reviewing claims when we would all like to see help being given to our veterans.

I want to make sure that in the concern about moving people through the system, we are not doing them a disservice.

this is really a model of democracy, which is not just about Congress working, but about the American people.

That's just wrong, and these grants are vital to keeping our communities safe.

Eighty percent of all our firefighters are volunteers. I have a lot of small, rural communities, and they absolutely depend on these programs.

In Connecticut, we figure that saved us $18 million.

I really want to thank the six of you for your service and what you represent for firefighters across the country.

having those resources at the federal level available to Americans across the country is incredibly important

Earlier this week, the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off the coast of Japan. Seven of our brave servicemembers were killed in the collision. I ask my colleagues to join me in a moment of silence to honor the brave sailors…

I represent Connecticut, and I have constituents who ride these rails every day.

the only part of the system that is making money is the Northeast Corridor.

The public is highly suspicious of removing and having a separate entity.

That is a function of the majority, which is controlling funding, to do appropriate funding.

My concern is now we are looking to further undermine support for appropriated funding for FAA.

Wouldn't it seem inherent, given that this new private entity would have to coordinate with the remains of FAA, that that process of separation, when we are well into this, would, in and of itself, cause some delays?

I refer to my colleagues as patriots when I am in my district, I say they are all patriots.

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 3, after line 2, insert the following (and redesignate subsequent subparagraphs of the quoted matter…

May I inquire as to how much time I have remaining? The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman has 1 minute remaining.