Mario Díaz-Balart

one of the things I am very proud of in the 2019 bill is the funding that we put in for the Port Infrastructure Development program.

I think it has been a very important hearing, a very fruitful hearing.

We are keenly interested, Madam Secretary, in your plans to continue implementing the recent major investments in our Nation's infrastructure.

We provided nearly $500 million for new vouchers for this program--for this population, I should say, over the past 2 years.

if the chairman is given an allocation and if we are allowed to do our work, we will get it done.

I want to thank you for your leadership, Madam Secretary.

Now, there are a few topics that are more important to this subcommittee than building obviously stronger communities.

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for holding this hearing today.

The chairman and I continue to monitor efforts to recover from hurricanes, and severe flooding, including Irma, Michael in Florida, Matthew, et cetera.

The idea of ending homelessness, you know, may have once seemed kind of out of reach in a dream, but we are making real progress towards this goal.

I represent a district that is urban and rural, and I have seen the challenges of rural bridge infrastructure in my State.

I want to work with you to make sure that those upgrades, those infrastructure upgrades in the ports, you know, that we also consider the folks that are working in the ports, those hardworking labor folks who are there, to make sure we do…

I want to thank you for your service to the country.

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. I also would like to welcome our witnesses today, and I thank Chairman Price for holding this important hearing.

Linking the Federal resources to innovation and with public and private partnerships will be a key to building our future, our real infrastructure for the next generation.

I want to thank Mr. Rutherford for his leadership.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam Secretary, I have two separate issues. Let me start--and this is not a question, but first, thanking you for the work that you have done and your staff on the Tamiami Trail project in southern Florida.

I think we have a lot of new Members of Congress and the House and the shutdown I think hopefully illustrated a little bit of why the appropriators always think that shutdowns are horrible.

I would like to begin, Madam Secretary, by thanking you and your staff for your attention to the issues.

I am exceedingly pleased with how you put this proposal forward.

I don't care what you want to call it, CRs. And you can put names to the CRs.

Your stalwart support of fair housing enforcement has not gone unnoticed, and I thank this committee for putting fair housing on the agenda today.

I just want to thank you. And if you could, just know that--and I think I can speak for everybody, how grateful we are to all of you.

I am pleased to see that you have expanded the eligibility criteria in your request for $300 million for a competitive bridge program.

We are going to need everyone's help to get it through the floor.