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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote--how soon, unclear--but soon vote on an appropriations package which, among other bills, includes one from the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Subcommittee, which I chair. I want to take a moment to talk about what is in it and why it matters so much.

The United States is experiencing an unprecedented housing shortage. Homes are increasingly out of reach for so many families and individuals, and homelessness continues to rise to record levels. There is no question that the Federal Government must act.

No appropriations bill--especially one negotiated under difficult spending caps demanded by House Republicans--is going to solve our decades-long housing problem. But what this bill does is provide funding for rental and homelessness assistance for millions of Americans.

It also provides $100 million for the Yes in My Backyard Program, which will incentivize building housing and eliminating exclusionary zoning policies that have long kept housing supply down.

The bill also includes funding to modernize transportation and make it safer and more accessible. It fully funds the Federal Aviation Administration so that it can staff up and maintain a world-class air traffic control system.

Also included is the funding for the Federal Railroad Administration, which, in part, will help to improve rail safety in the wake of the East Palestine train derailment.

Crucially, the bill provides vital funding to improve Tribal housing and transportation infrastructure, including more than $1.3 billion for the NAHASDA Native-American Housing Block Grant Program. That is a record increase for Tribal housing of more than $300 million, which will help Tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians build affordable housing in their communities and address their unique and urgent housing needs.

As always, these bills are the product of a lot of hard work and patience, especially from our excellent staff. That has been particularly true this year. They have worked so hard--long, long hours. When we make a deal, the work begins. Whenever we decide that we have consummated our deal, they don't get to say: Look, I am in the middle of a kid's baseball game or I am at a doctor's appointment or I am on a run or I just woke up. They have to get to work and draft the legislation. So lots of them have spent a lot of sleepless nights. My staff, the Republican staff on the T-HUD Committee, our House counterparts, all of the people in leadership on both teams, everybody worked their butt off to make this possible. I just want to appreciate them.

I also want to take a moment to thank Ranking Member Cindy Hyde- Smith, the subcommittee members, as well as our counterparts in the House--Representatives Cole and Quigley--who worked in good faith throughout the process to get us here.

There is a lot more that we need to do to invest in housing and transportation around the country, but this bill funds enormously important priorities and projects that so many Americans rely upon. It is essential that we pass it, along with the rest of the bills.

We have a deadline of tomorrow night at midnight. I am confident that we will make that deadline, but we have got to run this thing across the finish line.

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