Lincoln Diaz-Balart: “Before I speak about the specifics of this portion of the bill, I thank Chairman Frelinghuysen. He has put countless…”

“Before I speak about the specifics of this portion of the bill, I thank Chairman Frelinghuysen. He has put countless hours to put this remarkable legislation together. I think he must be commended. I also thank Ranking Member Lowey as well as the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Price. The American people expect us to get our job done, to fulfill our constitutional responsibility. That is precisely what we are doing today. The THUD portion of this agreement provides $57.7 billion in budget authority, which, by the way, is $5.5 billion below the budget request. The transportation and housing programs in this bill support critical infrastructure, technologies, and housing opportunities that make a positive difference in the day-to-day lives of so many of our constituents. This bill makes critical investments in our air traffic control system to make sure that continues to be the world leader in safety in the entire world. {time} 1530 We fund surface transportation investments authorized by the FAST Act to ensure that we improve and expand highways and bridges that are so vital to our national economy. And this bill also provides permanent regulatory relief from two overly burdensome additions to the hours-of- service restart rule made by the previous administration. Mr. Speaker, this bill also provides $928 million in disaster assistance for communities devastated by storms and floods.…”