David Price: “Additionally, the Community Development Block Grant and HOME programs are each cut by $100 million in this bill despite…”

“Additionally, the Community Development Block Grant and HOME programs are each cut by $100 million in this bill despite bipartisan calls from local elected officials across the country to preserve those funding streams. We are in the midst of a housing crisis nationally. Only one in four people eligible for Federal rental assistance can receive it. We have a huge public housing capital backlog, and our infrastructure continues to crumble, resulting in decaying highways and bridges and congested roads. We should be increasing our commitment to meet these housing and transportation needs, not shortchanging them. We have done this for far too long already. We have returned again and again to appropriations, especially domestic appropriations, to bear the whole brunt of deficit reduction. The results are a disaster for our economy and for the work of our appropriations committees. It is truly the worst of both worlds. We are not really addressing the main drivers of the deficit, yet we are doing untold damage to critical national investments. I strongly object also to several policy riders in this bill. They unnecessarily attack high-speed rail, they roll back transportation safety, and they harm labor rights. No number of amendments offered today can fix this bill. I remain hopeful that ultimately we can get a serious budget agreement. In the meantime, I urge my colleagues to reject this omnibus bill.”