Sam Graves: “I thank the chairman for his work on putting together a long-term bill. Mr. Chairman, one of the priorities which was…”

“I thank the chairman for his work on putting together a long-term bill. Mr. Chairman, one of the priorities which was included in the manager's amendment is a program to invest in our small airports. As part of the increased investment in transportation programs that was provided in the fiscal year 2018 omnibus, we provided an additional $1 billion to the FAA in discretionary grants to small airports. Now airports across the country are going to have the opportunity to compete for additional dollars to carry out the larger projects. We also have some very important accountability measures. As such, we are asking to review all the FAA's efforts to date on NextGen. This is pure and simple accountability to ensure our tax dollars are being spent to execute the important goals of NextGen. Mr. Chairman, I ask all of my colleagues to support the manager's amendment, obviously, and the underlying bill. This is a good bill. Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Frankel), a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.”