There is nothing they could do to stop those external trends from having a devastating impact on their community.

I think Congress should pay more attention to that.

I think we have to be much more focused on providing to target, providing significant technical assistance to really weak communities.

I think those communities are identifiable.

the decisions that we make in terms of the way we invest in infrastructure, for example, can have a very positive impact on a region, but sometimes has an unintended negative consequence on a particular area.

Providing more debt opportunities for those places really does not solve the problem.

The focus of my remarks this morning will be on one particular set of issues, and it has to do with the Federal Government's role in the health, the fiscal and social and economic health of America's cities and towns.

There is a clear public, and I think national interest, in the health of America's cities.

The effort that I launched, I do not know, 8 or 9 months ago in my role on the Financial Services Committee is titled, 'The Future of America's Cities and Towns,' because I think there is this false dichotomy that we often do not challenge.

the way the money is used is really flexibly tailored to the unique needs of the communities.

It was a year ago this very day that Republicans in this House voted to eliminate healthcare for millions of Americans, something we knew at that point, if it went through, would increase premiums on millions of other Americans that still…

I thank Mr. DeFazio both for yielding, but especially for his leadership on this issue. As the ranking member said, this is something that comes up every year. Thankfully, Democrats and Republicans have stood together to protect this…