David Price: “I thank my colleague for yielding and for offering this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I am willing to accept this amendment…”

“I thank my colleague for yielding and for offering this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I am willing to accept this amendment, take it to conference, and work out what the most appropriate level of funding is. I want to acknowledge strong support of this Chamber from both sides of the aisle for the BUILD program. That is the one discretionary program within DOT that allows States and local communities to seek funding for major multi-modal transportation projects. As our colleague has underscored, technical assistance and planning support is often essential to that process, especially for communities with more limited resources or expertise. These planning grants are important. The underlying bill provides $15 million for competitive grants for planning, preparation, and design. The amendment sets that figure at $20 million. These resources are going to lead to increased investments in our communities, they are going to create jobs, and spur economic growth. Mr. Chairman, I applaud the gentleman's efforts to highlight the importance of planning grants, and I urge adoption of the amendment.”