Lincoln Diaz-Balart: “Before I begin, I want to thank the chairman, our members, colleagues, and the leadership for being so understanding.…”

“Before I begin, I want to thank the chairman, our members, colleagues, and the leadership for being so understanding. Tomorrow, I will be heading back to south Florida to be there in case this horrible storm does head our way. Again, everyone has been incredibly supportive and shown great solidarity. I am exceedingly grateful for that. I rise today to express the strongest possible support for this bill. I applaud the leadership of Chairman Frelinghuysen for making it possible to consider it on the floor today. I would like to highlight some of the vital issues in this bill. The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies division provides $56.5 billion in discretionary budget authority. That is $1.1 billion below the fiscal year 2017 enacted level, but it is $8.6 billion above the budget request. We have targeted transportation and housing funding to essential investments in safety, infrastructure, and assistance for our most vulnerable citizens: the elderly; the disabled; and, yes, America's heroes, our veterans. We also had to prioritize by reducing or eliminating nonessential programs and scaling back administrative accounts. For the Department of Transportation, the bill includes $17.8 billion in discretionary appropriations and $76.7 billion in total resources. That includes support for the FAST Act obligation limitations. The Federal Aviation Administration is funded at $16.6 billion, Mr. Chairman.…”