Date: 2006-06-13
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. the rule provides 1 hour of general debate evenly divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. It also provides one motion to recommit. with or without instructions. I would like to take a moment to reiterate that we bring this rule forward under an open rule. Historically. appropriations legislation has come to the House governed by open rules. and we continue to do so in order to allow each and every Member of the House the opportunity tQ submit amendments for consideration as long as they comply with the rules of the House. The legislation that we bring to the floor today appropriates over $67 billion for the Departments of Transportation. Treasury. and Housing and Urban Development. the Judiciary. the District of Columbia. and independent agencies. an increase of 6 percent over last year. And yet the bill is fiscally sound. It also represents our commitment to provide the necessary resources for programs and projects across the Nation ranging from transportation to housing. the judiciary. the executive office of the President. and the District of Columbia. The Nations transportation infrastructure is the backbone of the economy. Its continued strength is essential to foster economic growth. and the bill that we bring to the floor today ensures that we have a reliable and stable transportation infrastructure. that we continue to do so. so that the economy can continue to grow. The bill includes $39.1 billion in funds for our highway system. representing an increase of $3.5 billion. Included in the bill is $900 million for Amtrak. It includes significant financial and management reforms. In addition. the DOT Inspector General is required to report back regularly to Congress on Amtraks progress on financial reforms. The bill that we bring to the floor also includes over $15 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration. an increase of $1.4 billion. Iacluded in that amount is $16 million to hire and train 132 new air traffic controllers. That is vitally important as air traffic controllers begin to retire and yet air traffic continues to grow. This is essential. for example. in my district. which is the home of Miami National Airport. the third largest international airport in the country. Without an increase in the number of air traffic controllers. Miami International would not be able to continue its projected growth and continue to serve as the Hub of the Americas. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is funded at $35 billion. an increase of $1.7 billion" These funds will permit the Department to administer programs and assist the public with their housing needs. economic and community development and fair housing opportunities. Under HUD the bill includes funding for such important programs a- Tenant Based Rental Assistance. also known as section 8. and projectbased rental assistance. These two programs serve almost 3.5 million households with vouchers and projectbased housing. The bill includes over $21 billion in funds for the program. an increase of over $800 million. H.R. 5576 provides $6.1 billion for the Federal Judiciary. an increase. Mr. Speaker. of almost 6 percent. This funding will enable the courts to effectively process priority criminal. civil. and bankruptcy cases. This legislation was introduced by Chairman JOE KNOLLENBERG and reported out of the Appropriations Committee on June 6 by a voice vote. It is good legislation. essential to our continued commitment to the security and safety of all citizens and residents of the United States. and we bring it forth.-as I stated before. under a fair and open rule. I would like to t.aank Chairman KNOLLENBERG and Ranking Member OLVER for their leadership on this important issue. I -urge nay colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.