Peter DeFazio

Unfortunately, that is not the case. There is still much to be done.

I particularly want to thank Representative Sam Graves for his help with that.

H.R. 7575, this year's Water Resources Development Act of 2020, will continue the work on Florida water, and in restoring the Everglades.

We have been trying for quite some time to move this forward in a major way to restore the greatest, most diverse, ecological wetland system in the world, in my opinion.

Thank you, Chair Napolitano, for convening this important hearing.

Diversity in hiring and contracting is essential to strengthening the nation's transportation and infrastructure.

The DBE program is key to improving economic opportunity for small businesses in U.S. transportation.

You know, you detailed experiences there with discrimination throughout your career.

The DBE program has been narrowly constructed to combat the discrimination laid out in the evidence from across this country.

I repeatedly pointed to these disparity studies to demonstrate the reality of discrimination and its effects.

I submitted 30 high-quality disparity studies into the Congressional Record.

The continuing pandemic only underscores the need for this hearing and for the DBE program.

Discrimination is still terribly real in America.

I write in support of the continuation of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program for federally-assisted transportation projects.

As you know, the analysis we prepared for our September 9th testimony focused on six of Amtrak's existing 12 daily long-distance National Network routes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wrought devastating public health and economic impacts.

Congress on a bipartisan basis led by Mississippi Republican Senator Trent Lott eventually rejected those cuts and restored long distance service to seven days a week.

The principal reason Amtrak didn't get any money in the HEROES Act passed by the House was that Amtrak didn't submit a supplemental request until 10 days after passage.

Amtrak's announcement that they will furlough over 2,000 employees on October 1st is extremely disappointing.

We cannot just flip the switch so to speak if Amtrak is going to lose valuable workers, know-how, and riders because of these cuts.

I've always been a strong advocate for Amtrak because it provides an important public service--national passenger rail service.

The only way for my firm to enjoy the work we perform is to be a part of a program that provides project participation from diverse firms.

I've said this before and it continues to be true: we are simultaneously recovering from an unprecedented number of major disasters.

Thank you for accepting this letter of support for the DBE program.

Thank you for accepting my letter of support for the DBE program.