Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2022 — House Hearing, Committee on Appropriations (June 9, 2021)
Summary
The record of the House Committee on Appropriations Member Day hearing on appropriations for fiscal year 2022, held June 9, 2021, with Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut as Chair and Kay Granger of Texas on the committee. The Chair says about 35 Members are participating, so the committee will not ask questions and will listen to testimony and requests. She notes that the Constitution vests Congress with the power of the purse, which the committee exercises through 12 annual appropriations bills. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts urges full funding for ten Community Funding Projects, saying that as the country recovers from the pandemic it must address shortcomings in infrastructure. Derek Kilmer of Washington also testifies.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
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“Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2022 — House Hearing, Committee on Appropriations (June 9, 2021).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/house-hearing-117th-congress-appropriations-for-fiscal-year-2022-4916c338c9/
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APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JUNE 9, 2021
MEMBER DAY TESTIMONY FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022
APPROPRIATIONS
(
Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
45–200 WASHINGTON : 2021
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COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
ROSA L. DELAURO, Connecticut, Chair
MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio KAY GRANGER, Texas
DAVID E. PRICE, North Carolina HAROLD ROGERS, Kentucky
LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD, California ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama
SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR., Georgia MICHAEL K. SIMPSON, Idaho
BARBARA LEE, California JOHN R. CARTER, Texas
BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota KEN CALVERT, California
TIM RYAN, Ohio TOM COLE, Oklahoma
C. A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland MARIO DIAZ-BALART, Florida
DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Florida STEVE WOMACK, Arkansas
HENRY CUELLAR, Texas JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine CHUCK FLEISCHMANN, Tennessee
MIKE QUIGLEY, Illinois JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER, Washington
DEREK KILMER, Washington DAVID P. JOYCE, Ohio
MATT CARTWRIGHT, Pennsylvania ANDY HARRIS, Maryland
GRACE MENG, New York MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada
MARK POCAN, Wisconsin CHRIS STEWART, Utah
KATHERINE M. CLARK, Massachusetts STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi
PETE AGUILAR, California DAVID G. VALADAO, California
LOIS FRANKEL, Florida DAN NEWHOUSE, Washington
CHERI BUSTOS, Illinois JOHN R. MOOLENAAR, Michigan
BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN, New Jersey JOHN H. RUTHERFORD, Florida
BRENDA L. LAWRENCE, Michigan BEN CLINE, Virginia
NORMA J. TORRES, California GUY RESCHENTHALER, Pennsylvania
CHARLIE CRIST, Florida MIKE GARCIA, California
ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona ASHLEY HINSON, Iowa
ED CASE, Hawaii TONY GONZALES, Texas
ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
JOSH HARDER, California
JENNIFER WEXTON, Virginia
DAVID J. TRONE, Maryland
LAUREN UNDERWOOD, Illinois
SUSIE LEE, Nevada
ROBIN JULIANO, Clerk and Staff Director
(II)
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MEMBER DAY TESTIMONY FOR FISCAL YEAR
2022 APPROPRIATIONS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
MEMBER DAY TESTIMONY
The CHAIR. The meeting has begun. I want to say thank you to
all of you for joining us this morning. Welcome to the full Appro-
priations Committee Member Day hearing.
Before we get started I want to note that due to the number of
Members who are participating—which is about 35, and, very excit-
ing, it demonstrates the centrality of the appropriations process—
but given the numbers that we have, we will not be asking ques-
tions so that we can be able to hear everyone and be able to listen
to testimony and take into consideration the requests.
I cannot stress enough the importance of input from our col-
leagues—on and off the committee—in shaping the appropriations
bill.
The Constitution vests the Congress with the power of the purse,
and the Appropriations Committee exercises that power through
our 12 annual appropriations bills. But every Member, no matter
their party or their seniority, has a role in ensuring government
funding meets the needs of their districts.
In addition to the funding requests we receive every year, this
year the Appropriations Committee is accepting Community Project
Funding requests, allowing Members to submit proposals to fund
a small universe of worthy projects with strong demonstration of
community support.
I am pleased to report that 331 Members have already submitted
over 3,000 Community Project Funding requests. The Appropria-
tions Committee has also received over 73,000 programmatic and
language requests.
As we speak, the committee is carefully examining all of these
requests, and Members will continue to have opportunities to work
on appropriations bills as we move through subcommittee and full
committee markups and the floor amendment process.
Today, as we provide yet another opportunity for you to make
your pitches to the committee, I look forward to listening and to
learning. I encourage you to be forthright. Please tell us what your
communities need.
I appreciate your attendance, and thank you for your participa-
tion, and looking forward to a robust dialogue as we work through
these requests together.
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As Members of Congress, we are entrusted with the responsi-
bility to speak up on behalf of our constituents. We owe it to them
and to the American people to ensure no voice goes unheard.
And with that, I would like to recognize the ranking member of
the Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Granger, for her
opening statement.
Ms. GRANGER. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, for hosting
this hearing today. It is very important, as you said, that we hear
from Members about their priorities before we start marking up
appropriations bill. You have got a great response here.
We are going to have a lot to do in a very short amount of time
if we are going to mark up and take bills to the floor before August.
In order to do this, we will need to work out all the issues that we
can in advance.
Today’s hearing is a very important step in that process, and I
want to thank the Members who are testifying today for their time
and their input.
Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
The CHAIR. We are, at the moment, if you will bear with us, we
are waiting for our first two witnesses to join with us.
So we are going to go out of turn, though. Let me recognize Con-
gressman Auchincloss from Massachusetts.
Congressman Auchincloss, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS
Mr. AUCHINCLOSS. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman and Ranking
Member Granger. I am here today to urge you to fully fund ten key
Community Funding Projects that are top priorities for my con-
stituents.
[Inaudible] Throughout the district work period to visit these
sites and communities, and I am grateful to the committee for the
opportunity to personally express how enthusiastic our State and
local leaders are about supporting these projects to address the
critical needs of my constituents.
As the country recovers from this pandemic, we must address the
persistent shortcomings of our current infrastructure. It is critical
that our recovery ensures people have access to life’s fundamentals
so that they can thrive in the present and be prepared for the fu-
ture. These projects are investments in both.
For the present, clean drinking water, healthcare, and social
services. For the future, disaster preparedness and economic devel-
opment.
I will begin by outlining four water infrastructure projects that
have emerged as priorities for my constituents.
One town in my district, Medway, is currently unable to pump
sufficient water for peak demand. The town is at risk of not having
enough water during emergencies, and the $2.75 million I have re-
quested will support the town’s plan to develop a centralized water
treatment facility to ensure residents have reliable drinking water.
Similarly, the town of Plainville’s existing water system is over
capacity, and the appropriation of $1.5 million would expand its
water treatment plant to twice its current capacity.
In the town of Norton, its water system is currently running at
almost half capacity. The requested $1.475 million would replace
three wells that serve almost 20,000 people and increase capacity
by approximately 1 million gallons per day.
Finally, my constituents in Hopedale are experiencing frequent
water restrictions because the town’s storage capacity has reached
unsafe levels. Community Project Funding would support designing
and constructing a new storage tank.
We know that health is more than just access to clean water. We
have witnessed firsthand how critical community health centers
are to ensuring that all people, regardless of income or insurance
status, have access to the healthcare they need.
Manet Community Health Center will be able to use the re-
quested $500,000 to develop a satellite facility and deliver equi-
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table and comprehensive healthcare in the heart of Attleboro’s
downtown.
In addition, Attleboro’s New Hope domestic violence shelter’s re-
quest for $2 million would support the construction of a new shel-
ter and provide refuge to the hundreds of survivors seeking refuge
every day in Massachusetts who are unable to access space due to
lack of capacity. The new shelter will help survivors recover from
mental health disease and substance abuse.
To ensure these basic resources are available around the clock,
we must proactively protect our infrastructure through disaster
mitigation. The requested $1.5 million for North Attleboro would
dredge the Ten Mile River. In Somerset, the $1 million in pre-dis-
aster mitigation project funding would repair and reinforce the
Somerset Dam.
By protecting basic necessities, we can look to the future and
what investments will ensure our communities continue to grow.
Bristol Community College’s request for $2 million for its Na-
tional Offshore Wind Institute would prepare a workforce that sup-
ports green energy and good-paying jobs. The institute can turn a
climate crisis into an opportunity to create jobs while protecting
the planet for the next generation.
Offshore wind can do for the South Coast what life sciences did
for Cambridge and Boston 20 years ago: become an engine of eco-
nomic development and innovation.
Also on the South Coast, the requested $1 million in Economic
Development Initiative funding would provide a pivotal boost to
Fall River’s waterfront as an environmentally friendly place to
work, visit, and recreate.
These priorities represent the input of local, regional, and State
officials, town administrators and mayors, State reps and State
senators, regional planning bodies, and the Governor and cabinet.
We have also consulted a diverse set of experts from relevant sec-
tors, including transportation, housing, economic development, re-
newable energy, and the life sciences.
It is my belief that these investments will go far beyond bene-
fiting only the Fourth District of Massachusetts. We have long been
a leader in my home State in the life sciences, technology, and edu-
cation.
And I am proud to support projects that are going to further the
Commonwealth’s standing as a powerhouse of talent, work ethic,
and innovation for the generation to come.
I appreciate your time, Madam Chairwoman.
[The information follows:]
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The CHAIR. I want to thank the gentleman for his testimony and
for the thoughtfulness of the projects that have been initiated.
So with that, as I mentioned earlier, because we have really 35
Members, we are not going to be asking questions. That doesn’t di-
minish our consideration of your efforts and your projects. So thank
you very much.
And with that, if I can, I want to recognize Congressman Derek
Kilmer from Washington State.
Congressman Kilmer, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. DEREK KILMER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF WASHINGTON
Mr. KILMER. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thanks to you and
the ranking member for hosting today’s Member Day hearing.
Ensuring that the House is equipped to uphold its article I re-
sponsibilities is important, and it is challenging work, and I thank
you for your leadership.
I am here today actually not to talk about my service on the Ap-
propriations Committee, but to talk about the work of the Select
Committee on the Modernization of Congress, which I chair along-
side Vice Chair William Timmons.
The Select Committee’s guiding principle is to make Congress
work better for the American people. This simple but profound goal
guides all of our work and helps identify institutional problems and
develop hopefully helpful solutions.
During the 116th Congress, the Select Committee unanimously
passed almost a hundred recommendations to improve the way
Congress works. About a third of those recommendations were in-
cluded in legislation that passed the House last March.
Today, Vice Chair Timmons and I want to highlight just some of
the Select Committee’s recommendations that we think deserve
funding. Investing in these recommendations would improve the ef-
ficiency and effectiveness of the legislative branch so we can better
serve the American people.
The Select Committee has and will continue to focus on building
staff capacity. That means figuring out what Congress needs to do
to attract and hold on to a diverse and talented workforce.
The committee held four hearings on these issues in the 116th
Congress, and kicked off the 117th with a series of three hearings
devoted to staff recruitment, retention, and diversity.
We also recently held a hearing on accessibility in Congress,
which featured a perspective on the challenges staff with disabil-
ities face while working on the Hill.
We know that staff deserve better benefits, more training oppor-
tunities, and a healthy work-life balance. We also know that offer-
ing competitive salaries is essentially the only way to prevent staff
from leaving Capitol Hill for private sector or executive branch
jobs.
This ongoing brain drain leaves Congress reliant on lobbyists for
policy expertise, and that is not the system the Framers intended.
One important way to address these issues is to address the ve-
hicle by which Members pay staff, the Member Representational
Allowance, or MRA. The Select Committee recommended report
language directing a thorough and updated evaluation of the MRA
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formula—including a consideration of staff pay—that provides a
modernized and data-driven means of determining the MRA.
Paying our staff more is a priority. At the same time, Congress
needs to provide staff with the skills and training that they need
to excel at their jobs that they were hired to do.
And to this end, the Select Committee suggests funding or sup-
port for the CAO to provide institution-wide standard onboarding
training for new employees, including required training to ensure
all new staff understand their role, how Congress operates, as well
as logistics like benefits.
Staff are key to this institution’s success, and investing in their
training helps Congress work better for the American people.
These are some of the examples of important steps Congress can
take to begin the long-overdue process of investing in the amazing
staff who help us carry out our representational and legislative re-
sponsibilities.
These requests are also consistent with additional efforts under-
way in the House to increase staff pay and benefits.
I would like to mention one final recommendation. The Select
Committee also suggested funding or support for the CAO to create
a pilot Congressional Leadership Academy for Members.
If Members believe that additional professional development and
institutional training will help them better carry out their rep-
resentational and legislative responsibilities, they have should have
access to programs that will help them continue learning so that
they can do their jobs smarter.
Congress is actually the first place that I have worked that
hasn’t really had those sorts of professional development opportuni-
ties, and I think that is a worthy investment by the institution so
that Members can better serve their constituents.
Making Congress work better for the American people is a worth-
while investment. On behalf of the Select Committee on Moderniza-
tion, I appreciate your consideration of these requests, and I am
happy to provide additional information to support your work.
So thank you for the opportunity to speak before the committee
today, and I yield back.
[The information follows:]
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The CHAIR. Thank you, Congressman Kilmer. And just want to
just briefly say that we are grateful for the work that the bipar-
tisan Committee on Modernization completed, as it has helped us
in putting into place the process for Community Projects Funding.
So thank you for your good work.
And with that, let me recognize Congressman Timmons from
South Carolina.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. WILLIAM R. TIMMONS, IV, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Mr. TIMMONS. Chair DeLauro and Ranking Member Granger,
thank you for hosting today’s Member Day hearing, and thank you
for your leadership on this important committee.
I am here today to talk about some of the recommendations the
Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress has made to
make Congress a more effective and efficient institution.
I serve as vice chair of the Select Committee, alongside Chair-
man Kilmer. We work as partners to identify problems and develop
solutions to make Congress work better for the American people.
I am proud of what the Select Committee accomplished in the
116th Congress. We proved that it is possible for Members from
both sides of the aisle to sit down together, engage in tough discus-
sions, listen and learn from one another, and ultimately find bipar-
tisan solutions to the challenges that we all face.
The committee unanimously passed 97 recommendations to im-
prove the way Congress works and turned many of these rec-
ommendations into legislation that passed the House last year.
Today, I want to join Chair Kilmer in highlighting some of the
Select Committee’s recommendations that we think should be fund-
ed.
A modern Congress is one that is well equipped to serve the
American people, and we think that is worthy of investment.
In addition to the important staffing-related recommendations
that Chair Kilmer has just addressed, I want to highlight a few
recommendations designed to make Congress a more collaborative
and efficient institution and Members better able to serve their
constituents.
Select Committee members believe that Congress is stronger
when Members find ways to work together to solve problems. Rela-
tionship building is key to successful collaboration, and the more
opportunities Members have to get to know one another, the better.
In this spirit, the Select Committee requests funding for the
Committee on House Administration to institute biennial, bipar-
tisan retreats for Members at the start of each Congress. This
would help promote productive engagement across the aisle and ul-
timately encourage better policymaking.
Productivity could also be increased by better balancing our time
between home and DC and better managing our often hectic and
unpredictable schedules. The Speaker has made a number of
changes to the schedule, and I believe that in years to come we will
be able to further hone the best schedule we can possibly have for
future Congresses.
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Another important recommendation was to create a bipartisan
Members-only space in the Capitol to encourage more collaboration
and relationship building across party lines. This space should be
full service, to be very inviting, and could hopefully have an indoor
and outdoor option for days when the weather is nice.
During the 116th Congress, the Select Committee devoted a lot
of time to exploring ways to improve the House schedule and cal-
endar, and we will continue to do so in the 117th. We know there
is no perfect calendar and no schedule that will please every Mem-
ber. Everyone’s situation is different, and our preferred schedules,
to some degree, reflect those differences.
That said, there are still ways we can make more efficient use
of our time. One of the biggest challenges we heard about from col-
leagues was managing competing committee schedules.
For this reason, the Select Committee recommends including
funding or support for the Clerk to establish a common committee
calendar on docs.house.gov that identifies Member committee con-
flicts in real-time, at the time a committee meeting is published.
By identifying and collecting data on committee conflicts, we can
begin to develop solutions towards creating more efficient and pro-
ductive committee schedules.
The other recommendations I would like to address today focus
on helping Members and staff work smarter and better on behalf
of the American people.
The Select Committee recommends funding or support for the
CAO to support Member offices with their casework business proc-
esses. This includes providing electronic document management,
accessibility, and the creation of constituent forms that can be
viewed, edited, and electronically signed.
By building these kinds of efficiencies into our systems, we can
better work for our constituents. That is what we are here to do.
The Select Committee also requests funding to remove con-
stituent communication costs from the MRA and create a shared
account for Members’ communications.
As Chair Kilmer noted, increasing staff salaries is a priority.
This recommendation will help free up additional funds that Mem-
bers could use to pay staff more.
These recommendations, in addition to those addressed by Chair
Kilmer, will make Congress work better for the American people,
and I believe that is an investment worth making.
I appreciate your consideration of these requests, and I am
happy to provide additional information to support your work.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to speak before the com-
mittee today. And with that, I yield back. Thank you.
[The information follows:]
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The CHAIR. Thank you very, very much. And, again, to both you
and to Chair Kilmer, thank you for the work that is being done by
the Modernization Committee and the laudable goals that you have
for making Congress work better and more efficiently and also
dealing with the issues of quality of life for Members and for the
ability to communicate across party lines as well. So grateful for
the work of this committee.
And with that, if I can, I would like to introduce for testimony
Congressman Frank Mrvan from Indiana.
Congressman Mrvan, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. FRANK J. MRVAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF INDIANA
Mr. MRVAN. Thank you.
I would first like to thank Chair DeLauro and Ranking Member
Granger for holding today’s Member Day hearing.
I also want to congratulate the full committee, including the
chair and ranking member of each subcommittee, for soliciting and
considering Member requests for Community Project Funding as a
part of our fiscal year 2022 appropriations process.
As you are well aware, our Constitution states clearly, ‘‘No
money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law,’’ and I am pleased that this com-
mittee has taken steps to reaffirm the legislative branch’s power of
the purse, as well as giving the Members the opportunity to direct
Federal spending to worthy locally supported projects.
I also appreciate the stringent transparency measures instituted
by the committee. We must always be reminded of our fiduciary re-
sponsibilities to hardworking taxpayers. As a public servant, we
must conduct appropriate oversight to ensure the American people
that each and every appropriated dollar is fulfilling an essential
need in benefiting our communities.
I have the great honor and privilege of representing Indiana’s
First Congressional District, following in the footsteps of my men-
tor and friend, Chairman Pete Visclosky. Our First District is at
the center of vital road, rail, air, and port networks and home to
major manufacturing industries.
This infrastructure, coupled with our incredible workforce and
adjacency to the great city of Chicago, enables our region to con-
tinue to attract new businesses and talent.
Northwest Indiana is proud to have the largest concentration of
steel production and the largest inland oil refinery in our country.
These industries foster economic activity and provide good-paying
union jobs to thousands of workers in my district.
One particular request I would like to draw your attention to is
the value of the International Trade Commission.
As I mentioned earlier, my district leads the Nation in steel pro-
duction. In order to prevent bad actors from exporting their unem-
ployment to our Nation—and my district in particular—we must
ensure that the ITC has sufficient funding to uphold our trade
laws.
As you know, the ITC is required by U.S. law to release its budg-
et justification independently from the Office of Management and
Budget.
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I recently had the opportunity to meet with Chair Kearns and
Vice Chair Stayin regarding the ITC’s fiscal year 2022 budget jus-
tification. Most significantly, the funding increase that the Com-
mission is requesting is essential to hire more staff and make nec-
essary information technology investments commensurate with
their high record of caseload.
The ITC budget justification provides the most complete under-
standing of its financial needs and offers insight into how inad-
equate funding levels would impact its ability to enforce our trade
laws and protect American workers.
Therefore, I request the committee to closely review the ITC’s
budget justification and fund the ITC at $118.8 million for fiscal
year 2022.
In closing, I would like to again take a moment to recognize my
predecessor, Chairman Visclosky, who served on this committee
with distinction for many years. Mr. Visclosky consistently dem-
onstrated the incredible value of the House Appropriations Com-
mittee and how responsible Federal investments can transform re-
gional economies.
Chair DeLauro, Ranking Member Granger, and all the members
of this committee, I look forward to building on Mr. Visclosky’s
positive legacy and developing strong collaborative relationships
with this committee.
I thank you once again for the opportunity to testify today.
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The CHAIR. Thank you very much. And I can attest that Con-
gresswoman Granger and myself had the opportunity to serve with
Congressman Visclosky and are proud of his legacy as well. But
thank you for your testimony regarding the ITC and its value going
forward. So appreciate your testimony.
And with that, let me just introduce Congressman Brian Mast of
Florida for your testimony. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. BRIAN J. MAST, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF FLORIDA
Mr. MAST. Thank you, Chairwoman DeLauro, thank you, Rank-
ing Member Granger, members of the Appropriations Committee.
Today, I am here to advocate for full Everglades restoration and
water quality infrastructure funding.
Specifically, I request that $725 million be allocated in the
United States Army Corps of Engineers’ construction account for
South Florida Ecosystem Restoration in the fiscal year 2022.
This committee has continually been supportive of Everglades
restoration and for very good reason. The Everglades is a world
treasure that has a massive impact on the way of life for millions
of Floridians, including those that I represent in the Palm Beach,
Martin, and St. Lucie Counties of Florida, but going all the way
down to Miami and the Florida Keys.
Ensuring the preservation of this unique ecosystem is vital to the
ecology, economy, and public health for all of those across Florida,
and we are at a critical juncture in the restoration process to do
just that.
The Army Corps of Engineers, after years of planning, studying,
designing, has finally reached a point in the Comprehensive Ever-
glades Restoration Plan where they are making significant
progress, where these things can be moved forward with the appro-
priate funding lines.
The Corps is nearing completion on the massive reservoirs to the
east and west of Lake Okeechobee that will hold a combined 71 bil-
lion gallons of freshwater.
They are preparing for construction on the Everglades Agricul-
tural Area Reservoir project that will hold up to 240,000 acre-feet
of water, cleaned by natural treatment areas built by the State so
that it can be sent into Everglades National Park where the water
is drastically needed. That is why at this critical juncture addi-
tional funding is needed.
Now, unfortunately, the Federal Government has fallen behind
in that match. They have fallen behind the State of Florida in
meeting its half of the agreement with the State investing $4.5 bil-
lion, while the Federal Government has only spent about $1.7 bil-
lion in total.
President Biden’s $350 million request for Everglades Restora-
tion shows a commitment to these projects, no doubt about it, but
more funding is needed in order to keep pace with the projects the
Army Corps is ready to move forward with and with the invest-
ment that has already been made into this by the State of Florida,
by those agreements.
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That is why the Florida delegation was united, Democrats and
Republicans together, in requesting a $725 million investment for
fiscal year 2022.
Now, meeting this full request from our delegation would be a
strong statement, to say the least, from this committee that restor-
ing America’s Everglades and protecting the public health and
water supply of Floridians and visitors to our State is a top pri-
ority.
You may ask why the Federal Government is involved in this to
begin with, at the onset. And the fact of the matter is the Federal
Government has to play a role in the solution, because it created
the problems that exist by building the Herbert Hoover Dike
around Lake Okeechobee that sends water into the Florida Ever-
glades, digging canals all across Florida.
The unnatural flows of water means that the Everglades are
starved for water while Florida’s east and west coast are sent toxic
water that is killing animals, killing seagrass, making people sick,
and threatening their lives. And this is all done by the hand of the
Federal Government.
So to put an even finer point on it, this is an environmental jus-
tice issue on a scale unseen elsewhere in the United States.
Last month, the city of West Palm Beach, home to more than
100,000 people, found their water supply contaminated with toxic
algae as a result of that failing water infrastructure that we are
trying to fix, and that was just weeks after water tested positive
for toxins in one of the nearby watersheds, the Pahokee Marina,
100 times more toxic than the EPA said is safe for human contact.
That is the urgency of this construction and the needs here.
So in that, I just want to say that this is one of the most bio-
diverse ecosystems that we are looking to protect across the entire
country, and providing $725 million for Everglades restoration puts
Florida that much closer to making those scenarios that are a
nightmare from the past, making them a thing of the past.
So I thank you for your consideration for our delegation’s re-
quest. And, Chairwoman and Madam Ranking Member, I yield
back. Thank you for the time.
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35
The CHAIR. Thank you for your testimony. And it is a very
healthy request, which I know that the ranking member would
agree that it is, but you are a good advocate for all of the Florida
delegation in this project with the Everglades. So thank you very,
very much for your testimony this morning.
Let me recognize Congressman Jason Crow, Colorado, for your
testimony. Please begin. And you have 5 minutes. You are recog-
nized for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. JASON CROW, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF COLORADO
Mr. CROW. Thank you, Chairwoman DeLauro and Ranking Mem-
ber Granger, for the opportunity to participate in the hearing
today.
Federal spending is a statement of our Nation’s priorities, and I
appreciate this opportunity to highlight investments that will ben-
efit Colorado’s Sixth District and the Nation as a whole. In par-
ticular, I would like to highlight requests that seek to improve
health equity and access to care.
For far too long, communities of color and low-income commu-
nities have experienced the negative impacts of healthcare inequal-
ity. They experience higher rates of disease, disability, and even
death, and were disproportionately impacted by the COVID–19
pandemic.
To Build Back Better, we must address the systemic inequalities
in our healthcare system. So my first request is for nearly $500,000
for the Black Health Initiative Infant Prematurity and Infant Mor-
tality Project at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
The Black Health Initiative Project aims to combat the maternal
and infant mortality racial disparities in Colorado by investing in
peer-to-peer support for Black moms and simulated scenario train-
ing, which is crucial to identify gaps in provider knowledge and
care.
By supporting mothers and training providers, we can combat
national trends and improve outcomes for Black mothers and ba-
bies.
Second, I am requesting nearly $1 million for the Underrep-
resented Minority Pipeline for Health Professions at the University
of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Nationally and in Colorado, our healthcare providers do not re-
flect the populations they serve. According to the American Asso-
ciation of Medical Colleges, only 2.6 percent of physicians nation-
wide are Black, and only 3.8 percent are Hispanic.
This funding would help CU Anschutz scale up its collaboration
with local communities in Aurora and Denver to help underrep-
resented minority students pursue health and science professions.
As we emerge from the pandemic and continue efforts to tackle
the opioid epidemic, it is important that Congress continue to
eliminate barriers to care for individuals struggling with substance
abuse and mental health issues.
So I am requesting $1 million to support planning and design
costs for a new health campus for the Aurora Comprehensive Com-
munity Mental Health Center. The health campus model will en-
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able clients to access mental health, detox services, primary care,
and oral health services at a single location, eliminating barriers
to care.
Research has shown that we can help stop community violence
and the revolving door of violent injuries in emergency depart-
ments through hospital violence intervention programs. These pro-
grams connect emergency room patients with hospital and commu-
nity-based resources aimed at addressing an individual’s under-
lying risk factors for violence.
I am requesting nearly $500,000 to expand the At-Risk Interven-
tion and Mentoring Program operated by UC Health in Colorado.
So with this funding, UC Health will be able to continue and ex-
pand its pilot program to reduce community violence and improve
individual outcomes in the greater Aurora community.
In addition to these requests that address health equity and ac-
cess to care, I would also like to highlight my additional Commu-
nity Project Funding requests, including $750,000 for the 2–1–1
Program to operate the call system connecting Coloradans to 8,000
local service providers.
I am requesting $948,000 for the purchase of an Immune Moni-
toring Station to enhance the Crnic Institute’s research into Down
Syndrome at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
I am requesting $1 million for the Douglas County Generational
Opportunities to Achieve Long-Term Success Program to construct
more housing for housing-insecure families.
I am requesting $1.35 million for the City of Aurora Safe Out-
door Spaces Project. And I am also requesting $1.7 million for the
Village Exchange Center to expand services by renovating its facili-
ties.
And then finally, I am requesting $2 million to create a Domestic
Violence High Risk Team in Adams County, Colorado, to improve
services for domestic violence victims.
All of these projects will directly benefit some of the most
marginalized communities in Colorado’s Sixth Congressional Dis-
trict and promise systemic improvements that will strengthen not
just our community, but countless others across the country.
So I urge the committee’s support, and I look forward to working
closely with all of you to ensure these projects are included in the
annual appropriations bill.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to testify. And, Madam
Chair, I yield back.
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41
The CHAIR. I want to thank the gentleman. And I think we are
also much aware that what this pandemic has done is really to ex-
pose—so we have known some of these inequities have existed—but
it really has shone a light on the issue of disparities with regard
to healthcare and also with the access to care, as you point out,
with having a pipeline for health professionals to address under-
represented communities.
And thank you for laying out your projects and the thoughtful-
ness and the efforts with your community to represent their best
interests.
So I thank you very, very much this morning and appreciate
your testimony this morning. Thank you.
Let me at this juncture, just ask—not ask, but to acknowledge
the Members who have joined with us here today for Member Day.
This is an opportunity for Members throughout the House to be
able to come before us with testimony about those issues that they
are a champion of for the appropriations process, whether they are
programmatic or language requests or the Community Projects
Funding requests.
If Members will just bear with us briefly because we are trying
to track down the Members who indicated that they wanted to tes-
tify this morning. So if you will just bear with us for a few mo-
ments, I would appreciate it. Thank you.
[Recess.]
The CHAIR. What I want to do is be mindful of folks who are on
the call while we are waiting. So let us take a brief recess and we
will get back to you, so that you can pick up some of the business
that you have to be engaged in. But we will get back as soon as
possible when we know more about where the Members are who
indicated that they were going to testify this morning.
Thank you all very, very much, and I thank you for your pa-
tience. This is going to be a 10-minute recess. Thank you.
[Recess.]
The CHAIR. And, with that, let me recognize Congresswoman
Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts.
You are recognized for 5 minutes, Congresswoman Pressley. You
are muted.
Ms. PRESSLEY. Here we go. Mike check.
The CHAIR. There we go.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. AYANNA PRESSLEY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS
Ms. PRESSLEY. OK. Madam Chair, I ask that I get those 3 sec-
onds back.
All right. Thank you, Chairwoman DeLauro and members of the
committee, for the opportunity to testify on my priorities for the fis-
cal year 2022 appropriations bill. I am grateful for the opportunity
to bring needed resources to the Massachusetts Seventh District,
their community projects, and I welcome the opportunity to high-
light these 10 strong initiatives, which have robust community sup-
port.
The COVID–19 pandemic has laid bare the stark inequities in
our healthcare system and the disparate health outcomes across
demographics. In a wellness assessment in the town of Randolph,
a community home to a majority people of color, residents de-
scribed longstanding barriers to healthcare services, including
transportation, long waits, and shortages of providers that accept
public insurance. To address this need, I requested funding to cover
the cost of construction of a school-based health center at Randolph
High School, which would be accessed both by students and com-
munity. At one point, Randolph had the third highest rate of infec-
tions in the Commonwealth.
With substance use and drug overdoses rising in recent decades
and particularly during the pandemic, I have submitted a request
for the Dimock Center in Roxbury to increase the availability of
critically needed substance use treatment and programming. This
project would provide approximately 300 additional people annu-
ally with vital step-down services after detoxification and assist pa-
tients in sustaining wellness, obtaining jobs, reuniting with loved
ones, and leading healthy lives. I recently visited with Dimock and
learned, with our recent opioid overdose, that we have seen a 69
percent increase in the last year in opioid overdose of Black men.
These treatment beds and this sort of wraparound services are
sorely needed.
Every child deserves an education that meets their individual
learning needs, whether it is personalized curricula or culturally
responsive reading materials. I have put forward projects on behalf
of Randolph and Milton Public Schools which will go a long way
in ensuring students, including children of color, children from
lower income families, English language learners, and children
with disabilities receive a quality education that prepares them for
college and careers of their choice.
The pandemic had a devastating impact on Black and Latinx
youth enrollment in community colleges with some estimating that
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their numbers could fall by up to 30 percent by this coming fall.
I am requesting funding to expand the Boston tuition-free commu-
nity college program to cover tuition and related expenses for low-
and moderate-income students and one of six partner community
and technical colleges in greater Boston.
Last summer, Massachusetts had the highest unemployment rate
in the country, and the jobs recovery since then has left Black,
Brown, and low-income families behind. This is especially true in
the city of Chelsea where additional resources are needed to get
people back to work. That is why I am requesting funding to help
a local organization, Chelsea Collaborative, launch a pipeline
project as part of the city wide workforce development action plan
to rapidly reemploy Latinx and immigrant workers who have expe-
rienced under and unemployment because of the pandemic.
I am also seeking funding to help a minority-serving institution
in my district, the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, to
launch a new green jobs building automation systems certification
program to meet the needs of the growing clean energy economy
and to provide good-paying jobs in the field to their student popu-
lation.
The Island River area is home to 15,000 low-income residents,
who are primarily people of color, as well as the New England
Produce Center and major energy facilities. Coastal flooding, re-
sulting from sea level rise and record storms, threaten homes, live-
lihood, and needed infrastructure. The funding I requested for the
Island End River Regional Coastal Flood Resiliency Project would
bring Chelsea and Everett, two towns that have been long denied
environmental justice, much closer to preventing further climate
change-related disaster.
I have also requested funding to advance the Poplar Street Pump
Station and Art Farm Project in Somerville to provide critical
storm water climate change management infrastructure and to cre-
ate needed community space.
And, finally, expanding bicycle lanes has many benefits, includ-
ing improving health and reducing pollution and traffic. I have re-
quested funding to expand the network of separated bicycle facili-
ties across Cambridge, which will improve the safety of cyclists, the
connectivity to major employment areas, and promote biking as an
alternative to other modes of transportation.
Those in my district closest to the pain will always be my great-
est asset. People are our most valuable infrastructure. This is an
investment in the people, and I thank the Massachusetts Seventh
for their partnership and their counsel as I have worked to advance
our priorities in Congress. These community-supported projects,
Madam Chair and committee members, would immeasurably im-
prove the lives of my constituents, and I request that you give
them your strongest consideration.
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48
The CHAIR. I thank the gentlelady for her testimony and for the
focus on what the pandemic really has brought to light, are the in-
equities that deal with education, jobs, and infrastructure. And you
are accurate that the focus is about the people, your district and
districts all over the country. So thank you very, very much for
your testimony this morning.
Ms. PRESSLEY. Thank you, Madam Chair.
The CHAIR. Thank you.
And let me recognize Congresswoman Lori Trahan from Massa-
chusetts as well.
Congresswoman Trahan, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. LORI TRAHAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS
Mrs. TRAHAN. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member.
I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you about two of my
highest priorities for the fiscal year 2022 budget.
First, thanks to the leadership of this committee, considerable
progress has been made over the last 2 years to restore the tradi-
tional Federal role in assisting communities to meet their Clean
Water Act obligations. I am particularly grateful for the invest-
ments that this committee has made since fiscal 2020 in the EPA’s
sewer overflow control grants program. These grants are used to
prevent combined sewer overflows, or CSOs, a product of anti-
quated sewer systems commonly found in our older cities.
By design, these systems collect both storm water and household
wastewater for treatment. However, when the volume of effluent
exceeds the combined sewer system capacity, which happens rou-
tinely, outfalls empty the waste into nearby bodies of water. Each
time CSO events occur, we gamble with exposing our constituents
to a toxic stew. A number of years ago, the EPA reported on the
health risks associated with allowing untreated sewage to enter
our waterways unabated. As one might expect, the CSOs frequently
included bacterial pathogens, such as E. coli, cholera, salmonella,
and the bacteria that causes typhoid fever, as well as several
parasites and viruses in CSOs.
Too often, these public health risks fall on the shoulders of com-
munities that have been historically victimized by environmental
injustices, people who have already endured the brutal con-
sequences of generations of disinvestment and malignant neglect.
However, stopping CSOs can be extremely expensive. Indeed, ac-
cording to the EPA’s latest clean watershed needs survey, $50 bil-
lion is needed to correct CSOs nationwide. And, unfortunately,
there is no single solution to solve our CSO challenges. Each of the
800 or so communities with combined sewer systems is different.
In some, full sewer separation or new public wastewater treatment
works may be necessary. In others, green infrastructure solutions,
such as rain gardens and green roofs, may be sufficient.
In the Third Congressional District of Massachusetts, the district
I am honored to represent, a combination of these approaches is
underway to protect the Merrimack River. Nevertheless, the com-
mon denominator in nearly every case is the need for additional
Federal resources, particularly in the form of grants. That is why
Representative LaHood and I have filed the Stop Sewage Overflow
Act, legislation to double the funding for the Sewer Overflow Con-
trol Grants Program, as well as reduce the cost share burden for
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economically distressed communities. Elements of our proposal
were included in the Moving Forward Act last year, and we can be
certain that, as the climate warms and storms increase, our CSO
challenge will grow worse. So please build upon the progress of the
last 2 years and include the highest possible funding to the Sewer
Overflow Control Grants Program.
Second, I would ask that the committee provide a funding boost
to the Energy Department’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences con-
sistent with the Energy Act of 2020. Recent breakthroughs in fu-
sion research hold incredible promise for our transition to a clean
energy economy, and it led the National Academy of Sciences to
recommend in 2019 that the United States foster the R&D nec-
essary for a pilot fusion plant.
To that end, last year, Representative Lamb and I filed an
amendment to the Clean Energy Jobs and Innovation Act to in-
crease the Federal investment in fusion R&D. Our amendment was
ultimately incorporated into the Energy Act of 2020. Among the
most critical and cost-effective provisions is a DOE-supported, mile-
stone-based developed program. This section of the law authorizes
Federal aid to support a full scale fusion system, but the aid is con-
ditioned on applicants reaching technical milestones along the way.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a spin off from MIT, has already
begun planning for a proof-of-concept plant in the Third Congres-
sional District, and I am hopeful that America’s clean energy revo-
lution will be born within a few miles of the birthplaces of the
American Revolution and our Industrial Revolution.
Whatever approach proves to be the most cost-effective and tech-
nically feasible, fusion could serve as the foundation for our zero-
carbon energy economy of the future. Our need for clean, emis-
sions-free energy is a race against time, not only to prevent the
worst effects of climate change but also to ensure that the United
States is the global leader in solving this challenge. So I ask that
you include robust funding for the newly authorized fusion re-
search and development program. And thank you so much for this
opportunity today, Madam Chair. I yield back.
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The CHAIR. I thank the gentlelady.
And I know that Massachusetts has been leading the way in the
fusion area, having been able to meet with some of the folks there,
so thank you for the information. And having worked in a city gov-
ernment where we deal with trying to separate storm water and
waste in sewers, another—you know, both focused on environ-
mental issues here. Thank you very, very much for your testimony
this morning. I appreciate it.
And, with that, let me recognize Congressman Andy Levin from
Michigan. Congresswoman Levin, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. ANDY LEVIN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF MICHIGAN
Mr. LEVIN. Thank you so much, Chairwoman DeLauro. It is
great to see you and Ranking Member Granger.
I really appreciate all the members of the committee and oppor-
tunity to speak to you today.
You know, with Federal funds, community projects in Michigan’s
Ninth District could improve the lives of Macomb and Oakland
County residents tremendously. In my limited time today, I would
like to illustrate how that is true and urge you to approve my re-
quests for community project funding.
When choosing projects to put forward, I sought out those that
would serve my communities’ most vulnerable residents. One great
example of such a project is the Individual Development Account
Program at Macomb Community College, which will offer workforce
development and certification courses, a necessary step in getting
Americans back to work post COVID.
And I am happy to report, Madam Chairwoman, that the Sec-
retary of Education Cardona was with me at Macomb Community
College yesterday and had a tremendous visit.
More examples are the Eastside Community Hub Revitalization
Project to improve public facilities and programming to empower
at-risk youth and their families and the Anton Art Center’s
Artspace Project to provide affordable housing and creative work-
space accommodations for working artists in Mount Clemens. All
these projects will make a huge difference in the lives of Macomb
County residents in need.
I put forward projects to meet urgent needs in Oakland County
as well. For example, the city of Hazel Park hopes to create a com-
munity meeting space that can serve as a location for job fairs,
educational seminars, and crucially, a heating and cooling center
for at-risk residents. Madison Heights plans to renovate and ex-
pand its public library, ensuring it remains accessible for the most
vulnerable residents who depend on the library for tutoring, job
hunting, computer use, and more.
In the wake of a crisis that kept Americans apart, I am really
excited to see leaders in Michigan’s Ninth invest in spaces that
bring us together and keep our communities safe. Those invest-
ments are being made indoors but also outdoors. The Clinton River
Water Trail improvement in Macomb County will make the trail
safer and more accessible. Meanwhile, enhancing the tree canopy
in the city of Royal Oak will assist with pollution mitigation, cool-
ing in the summer, and storm water mitigation in Oakland County.
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The last point is, I think, particularly important in our commu-
nity. Sadly, Michiganders know the devastating effects of unsafe
water and flooding disasters firsthand. I am proud to support a
number of projects to address those issues, and I am picking up
right where Representative Trahan left off here. The Kensington
Water Main and Lead Service Replacement Project would replace
a 100-year-old water main and 70 lead service lines in Oakland
County. While in Macomb County, the Chapaton Retention Basin
In-Storage Expansion would include the water quality of Lake St.
Clair, which is a major drinking water supply for southeast Michi-
gan. And also in Macomb County, the St. Clair Shores Pump Sta-
tion would preserve flooding that has had disproportionate impacts
on our area’s most vulnerable residents. And I want to point out
that the commissioner of the water system over there is your
former colleague Candice Miller, so this is a truly bipartisan effort.
My colleagues, I know you have made your decisions ahead as
you consider the best uses of a modest portion of Federal dollars.
I simply ask that you give these 10 projects the full consideration
they merit. They tackle problems I hear about every day when I
meet with constituents and chat with my neighbors, and they do
so in a way that makes sure no one gets left behind. I am really
honored to advocate for them today. Thanks so much for your con-
sideration. And, with that, I yield back.
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The CHAIR. Thank you very, very much for the testimony, and
I know your constituents are so proud of your advocacy on their be-
half. And you can be sure that the projects will get the highest con-
sideration and really taken by the breadth and scope of the range
of projects. And that is gratifying as we went down this road in
terms of community project funding. So thank you very, very much
for your testimony, Congressman Levin.
Mr. LEVIN. Thanks, Madam Chairwoman.
The CHAIR. Thank you.
And let me now recognize Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill from
New Jersey, and you are now recognized for 5 minutes. Thank you.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. MIKIE SHERRILL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Ms. SHERRILL. Thank you, Chairwoman DeLauro, Ranking Mem-
ber Granger, and members of the committee for providing me the
opportunity to testify today. I also want to extend a special nod of
thanks to my good friend and colleague from New Jersey, Rep-
resentative Bonnie Watson Coleman, for her outstanding work to
represent and support our State’s priorities on this committee.
I want to speak today about a number of crucial projects I have
submitted on behalf of my district and the communities and con-
stituents I represent. You have heard from and will continue to
hear from a number of Members today. Many, if not all of us, will
be highlighting the community projects we have submitted for con-
sideration by this committee. For this committee, it may seem tedi-
ous, but I assure you no matter the size, scale, or issue area that
these projects fall under, they will be life-changing to the constitu-
ents we are here advocating for.
For every community, the past year has been exceedingly dif-
ficult: the pandemic, the economic fallout, the loss, the isolation,
the change in daily routine, kids learning remotely, and families
prevented from seeing each other in the most troubling times many
of us have ever faced. Every part of this Nation was hit hard, but
for New Jersey, we were hit hardest, and we were hit first. The im-
pact hasn’t been lost on those in my district. Whether it is the
trauma of loss or loneliness, the financial hardship of closed busi-
nesses, or a lost job that threatens housing security, or the uncer-
tainty of what awaits on the other side of this crisis, reopening and
getting back to normal is going to be a challenge. But we are well
on our way to making that reopening a reality, and now is the time
to be making the types of investments that will make us better and
stronger than before. So each of these project requests that I have
submitted were chosen because they will make a significant dif-
ference in people’s lives and livelihoods. That is what we as Mem-
bers of Congress need to be doing more than anything right now:
finding ways to improve the lives of our constituents and the serv-
ices in our communities to help ease our recovery and pave the way
for a more resilient future.
I know that pulls at the heart of every one of you as well, and
whether it is the American Rescue Plan, the infrastructure package
we are negotiating, or these community projects I am fighting for,
our priorities have been in the right place, and I want to extend
my thanks to this committee and the members on it for the role
they have played in helping make that case.
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Now, with that goal in mind, let me name just a few of the
projects I have submitted for consideration: $3 million for Morris
Habitat for Humanity’s largest affordable housing project to date
in Randolph; nearly $300,000 for suicide prevention services
through the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris Coun-
ty; $250,000 for a park improvements project in West Orange, spe-
cifically designed to enhance ADA accessibility and provide exercise
options for seniors; nearly $650,000 in funding for the installation
of new lights at a recreation complex in Totowa; $250,000 for the
replacement of a water main in Stanhope; $3.1 million for the ex-
pansion of a collaborative childcare project for United Way of
Northern New Jersey; more than $135,000 for traffic improvements
in Morris Plains that provide safe access to public transportation
for residents of affordable housing; $255,000 for the replacement of
lead pipes and service lines in Bloomfield; $800,000 for a water sys-
tem upgrade to improve the water system in Hopatcong; and, fi-
nally, $500,000 for the preconstruction engineering efforts for a
flood mitigation project on the Peckman River.
Some of the benefits of these projects speak for themselves: im-
provements for clean drinking water and the replacement of lead
pipes, aid for a project designed to protect communities’ homes and
businesses from flooding, or traffic improvements that will increase
pedestrian safety and access to public transportation for an under-
served population. These aren’t the flashiest projects Congress has
ever funded, but they are often the most impactful, and there are
always projects like these in our communities that need to be ad-
dressed.
And then there are those whose importance may have reached a
crisis level during the challenges of the last year. Aid to Habitat
for Humanity, for example, in my district, they are housing those
who may have lost everything during the pandemic. I had the
honor of joining as a volunteer on one of their builds just last
month. Or a project to expand childcare services that will help re-
build New Jersey’s early education and care sector when 71 percent
of the family childcare providers in the State have been lost. Or
perhaps, sadly, the most lifesaving, the expansion of suicide pre-
vention services when we are in the midst of a mental health crisis
only exacerbated by the pandemic.
These are the type of projects we need to be funding right now,
and I am proud to be fighting for them here today. Thank you all
so much.
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and I yield back.
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The CHAIR. Thank you so much for your testimony, and they are
flashy projects. So I really thank you for your—I think what the
community projects funding as we are listing to colleagues today
have demonstrated that they deal with issues that were in the
past, but the issues that were uncovered and exposed by the pan-
demic, and so that they meet both of those needs. So thank you so
much for your testimony this morning.
Let me now recognize Congressman James McGovern from Mas-
sachusetts, and you are recognized for 5 minutes, Congressman
McGovern.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS
Mr. MCGOVERN. Thank you, Chair DeLauro, Ranking Member
Granger, and members of the committee. Thanks for having me.
So, before I begin, I want to thank this committee, especially
Chair DeLauro, for all the work that you have done combating
hunger before the pandemic and then certainly during this pan-
demic. As you know, for too long, our government’s response to
hunger is about managing it, not ending it. The pandemic brought
the realities of the hunger crisis to kitchen tables and living rooms
all across the country. And even before COVID, 35 million Ameri-
cans faced food insecurity in 2019. Hunger makes it harder for chil-
dren to grow, harder for students to learn, harder for parents to
work and take care of their kids. This isn’t an urban or rural prob-
lem. It is pervasive and can be found in every single congressional
district. It is a crisis that we must not accept.
Congress has come together before and made great, great strides
on hunger. Following the first ever Hunger Conference in 1969, my
old boss, Senator George McGovern, no relation but great last
name, worked with Senator Bob Dole and others to create what we
now know as the SNAP, WIC, and school breakfast and lunch pro-
gram. And in the face of a global pandemic, this Congress, led by
this committee, showed that we can dramatically reduce child pov-
erty and food insecurity.
Yet, even with the important work we did, hunger persists. We
need permanent solutions so every person in America can feel fi-
nancially secure, which includes not worrying about how to feed
your family. To do this, I will be introducing a bill with Senator
Corey Booker to create a White House conference on food, nutri-
tion, hunger, and health to develop a roadmap to end hunger in
America by the United Nations global goal of 2030. At the Rules
Committee, we are holding hearings and roundtables and traveling
to see local innovations that work to bring good ideas back for us
to consider both here in Congress and through the conference.
We know hunger is not an issue that breaks down neatly into
one department or committee. Rules met recently to discuss hunger
among military families and veterans. We learned how high unem-
ployment from military spouses and high childcare costs can strain
family budgets and that limited data make understanding the
problem harder. We learned how military members are treated dif-
ferently in SNAP if they live on base or off and that the transition
from Active Duty to civilian life creates a host of destabilizing chal-
lenges.
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To the veterans, we learned that homelessness impacts all other
issues, including hunger, and we heard how food banks, one in
West Virginia specifically, have been working with local VA hos-
pitals to bring food to vets in need. As VA hospitals grapple with
how to add onsite food pantries, civilian hospitals like Boston Med-
ical Center, who testified before the Rules Committee in April,
have been doing this for years, both to better serve the community
and to stem rising costs. We also learned that limited access to reli-
able broadband in rural communities makes everything from talk-
ing with vets in need to collecting and analyzing data to collecting
and rerouting food much, much harder. So many of these issues lie
between committee and departmental jurisdictions, making it hard-
er to address problems that are one, solvable and, two, deserve a
solution. So Rules will work to build the momentum, but only Ap-
propriations can provide the resources.
So, first, I ask you to set aside $2.5 million to fund the second
White House conference in 50 years to focus on food, nutrition,
hunger, and health. Second, help us better connect the dots and
break down silos. To ensure that this conference is a substantive,
policy-oriented effort, we need information from Federal depart-
ments and agencies immediately. Because the members of this
committee can see across the whole field, require the departments
and agencies you oversee to think critically about the role they can
play in ending hunger. Ask them to identify the challenges and op-
portunities that exist, examine authority, limitations they face, and
identify opportunities for better collaboration across government
silos. If that sounds like a good, commonsense idea, it is because
it came out from a member of this committee, Congressman Cole,
who is our ranking member on the Rules Committee.
Finally, across the fiscal year 2022 appropriations, look for ways
each subcommittee can reduce food insecurity so we can start mak-
ing things better immediately. Senator Bob Dole wrote Congress-
man Cole and me recently saying, and I quote: I remain proud of
the work Senator McGovern and I did then, and I endorse your ef-
fort to secure a second White House conference to identify the next
frontier of programs to finally end hunger in America, end quote.
Like Senator Dole, I believe we can still do big things together. So
help us in this next and hopefully final frontier to end hunger once
and for all. And I thank you and yield back my time.
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The CHAIR. I thank the gentleman. And let me just say how
proud I am to work with you on the issues that you have been a
guiding light, a beacon on the issue of hunger. And the term ″food
insecurity″ just needs to translate into hunger, and the United
States is a land of plenty. No one in this country, particularly chil-
dren, should go to bed hungry at night, so thank you for all of your
efforts in this area. And, again, I am proud to work with you.
Mr. MCGOVERN. Thank you.
The CHAIR. Let me introduce Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher
from Texas. Congresswoman Fletcher, you are recognized for 5
minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. LIZZIE FLETCHER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF TEXAS
Mrs. FLETCHER. Well, thank you so much, Chairwoman DeLauro
and Ranking Member Granger, for the opportunity to testify before
the committee today about how the appropriations process this
year can best support our communities.
In particular, I want to highlight the importance of community
project funding and ensuring that vital resources reach the commu-
nities they are intended to serve by focusing my remarks on a few
of the projects in my direct that I have submitted to the committee
this year. They are a real example of why this funding matters.
And this particular point takes us back just a few years. First,
as you may recall, my district in Houston was devastated during
Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Hurricane Harvey was one of the worst
disasters in our country’s history with $125 billion in damages,
more than any other disaster in U.S. history other than Hurricane
Katrina. And across my district, people suffered tremendous dam-
age during Harvey. For some people, it was the second time their
homes flooded in as many years. And for some, it was the third
after floods in 2015 and 2016.
During and after the storm, we saw our neighbors come together
to help one another, and it wasn’t just our neighbors here at home.
It was our neighbors across the country, including the United
States Congress. The 115th Congress voted to appropriate funds in
the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 to help in our recovery efforts,
both immediate assistance and also funds to mitigate future dam-
age by investing in and improving our infrastructure to make our
community more resilient. Through the work of this committee,
Congress responded by appropriating $2.3 billion in Community
Development Block Grant funding to the Texas General Land Of-
fice, the GLO, entrusting the State office to set up a competitive
grant program to fairly distribute these funds for mitigation, Fed-
eral funds.
Two weeks ago, the GLO announced that neither Houston nor
Harris County would be awarded any of the $2 billion in disaster
mitigation funds that the Congress sent to Texas after Harvey. Out
of more than $1 billion in awards announced, Houston and Harris
County, the epicenter of Harvey. And the site of tens of billions in
damage and the site of three 500-year floods in 3 years would get
zero. And it is clear that the program that GLO designed uses a
formula that makes it virtually impossible for Houston and Harris
County to get the funds.
This is the opposite of what Congress intended. We need these
funds. Harvey isn’t the only storm we faced. In the past decade, the
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Gulf Coast region has suffered increasingly dangerous and destruc-
tive hurricanes, and the funding Congress appropriated was in-
tended to help bolster our infrastructure to mitigate the risk and
the damage from potential storms. And this is why community
project funding is so important, and it is against this backdrop that
I want to convey to you how important this specific community
project funding I have submitted to the committee is needed at this
time.
The Meyergrove Detention Basin, one of the projects that I sub-
mitted on behalf of my district, and projects like it are critical to
mitigation efforts, ensuring safety and resiliency in my district.
The proposed detention basis would be a 7.5-acre storm water de-
tention basin for the conveyance of more than 50 million gallons of
storm water away from nearby residential, commercial, and med-
ical investments. The basin would also protect the downstream
Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world,
with the largest children’s hospital in the world, the Texas Chil-
dren’s Hospital, and the largest cancer hospital in the world at
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
The lifesaving treatment and research capacity of the Texas
Medical Center for the region is essential for planning and re-
sponse during public health emergencies. Access by patients, med-
ical professionals, and suppliers to TMC is critical, but the road
network for access to it lies in an area prone to flooding. And four
times in the last 6 years, street flooding has completely cut off ac-
cess to the medical facility except by boat or high water vehicle.
For critical patients, this can result in a loss of life. This much
needed project is one of our community’s needs.
Likewise, critical wastewater and water distribution projects for
local municipalities in my districts, like the city of Bellaire and the
city of Jersey Village that I submitted are also vitally important
projects. In recent years ago, the original sanitary sewer lines have
been failing, allowing storm water to infiltrate the collection sys-
tem. And during these weather conditions, storm water can fill up
the collection system, overloading the wastewater treatment plant
and forcing the discharge of untreated wastewater into the bio
drainage system. This creates a public health crisis during flooding
events.
It is critical that Congress fund these important projects and
that the Members of Congress who know their districts best can
ensure that the critical projects can be identified and that congres-
sionally appropriated funds can serve their intended purpose. Un-
fortunately, we have seen the opposite here in Houston recently
with the GLO’s announcement. That is why I thank you for giving
me the opportunity to testify today, and I urge the committee to
include these three projects I have identified as well as all of my
submissions to the committee in the fiscal year 2022 funding bills.
Thank you, and I yield back.
The CHAIR. Thank you for your testimony, and thank you for
your emphasis on disaster relief and the issue of flooding, et cetera,
I think a critically important area. And you are accurate. It is
gratifying, I think, for Congresswoman Granger and myself to un-
derstand that the community projects are working in a way with
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regard to the best interests of our communities, and thank you for
representing that this morning. I appreciate your testimony.
Now, with that, I am going to ask my colleague, Congressman
Pete Aguilar, who has agreed to just chair the meeting for the next
hour or so, and then I will be back. But I am grateful to you, Con-
gressman Aguilar, for, you know, stepping in and helping with this
morning and listening to the testimonies, great testimony, from our
colleagues. So Congressman Aguilar will take it from here.
Mr. AGUILAR [presiding]. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate
your leadership, and we will see you shortly.
Next on the list, do we have Congresswoman Steel from Cali-
fornia? We will then go to—oh. There we go. Congresswoman Steel,
are you there?
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. MICHELLE STEEL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Mrs. STEEL. Thank you. Thank you very much, Chairwoman
DeLauro and Ranking Member Granger, members of this commu-
nity, for the opportunity to testify today on the importance of
Surfside-Sunset and Newport Beach Replenishment Project in my
congressional district. I represent California’s 48th Congressional
District, which includes the Orange County coastline and our in-
credible beaches. Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach,
and Newport Beach are all in the 48th District. More than 50 mil-
lion people visit Orange County and our beautiful beaches, these
cities, every year. We are proud of our community, our wildlife, and
our reputation as one of the most beautiful places in the whole
country.
Our coastline has historically been replenished with sand from
the San Gabriel and Santa Ana Rivers. This was a naturally occur-
ring process until the 1940s when the—until the Federal Govern-
ment widened Anaheim Bay and constructed breakwater and jet-
ties to serve the new military bases that opened to boost efforts for
the Pacific Fleet. The Army Corps also created flood control
projects along three local rivers, and breakwaters were constructed
to create and protect the Los Angeles Long Beach Harbor. The new
construction by the Federal Government created narrowed beaches
that are now susceptible to extreme erosion.
In 1962, the Army Corps conducted a study and presented their
finding to Congress. In that study, the Department of the Army
proposed measures to mitigate adverse effects of previously con-
structed projects and its views concerning responsibility for such
mitigating measures. House Document 602 acknowledged that the
Federal Government was responsible, responsible for the disruption
to the naturally occurring replenishment process.
Congress accepted the findings from the study and passed Public
Law 87–874, which approved and authorized the Orange County
replenishment. The law also declared that there would be periodic
beach nourishment with no time limit on Federal aid authorized.
The Army Corps began replenishing sand in 1964, placing approxi-
mately 18 million cubic yards of sand at Surfside and Sunset Beach
over 12 construction stages, which occurred in 5 to 7 years inter-
vals.
In 1995, after planning Stage 10, the Army Corps abandoned
their responsibility to Orange County and decided to stop providing
congressionally mandated shoreline protection. In 2000, the Army
Corps stated that it was no longer budgeting for future stages.
Stage 13 is long overdue and has a non-Federal cost-to-share agree-
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ment with local stakeholders. They stand ready with over $7 mil-
lion in funding.
As this project continues to be delayed, it is only adding more
cost to taxpayers. Had Stage 13 been constructed in 2017 when the
designs were completed, the total cost would have been approxi-
mately $16 million. Now the Federal Government’s cost alone:
$15.5 million. Local stakeholders include California Department of
Parks and Recreation, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Seal
Beach, and the Surfside Stormwater District.
Before serving in Congress, I was Orange County supervisor dur-
ing my tenure. I approached Congress and Army Corps to fund
complete this vital project that is required by U.S. law. I am here
today to urge once again for the funding for this project. It is im-
perative that Army Corps immediately move forward on this
project. The Federal Government needs to fix the problem it
caused: manmade sand erosion. It is a no-brainer. The safety, secu-
rity, and health of our community is depending on it.
Thank you for your time today to address the urgent need for
Surfside-Sunset and Newport Beach Replenishment Project. I have
local resolutions and support letters from Orange County, Hun-
tington Beach, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, orders from July 2020
flood, from Newport Beach I would love to submit for the record.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Mr. AGUILAR. Without objection, we will take those for the
record.
[The information follows:]
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Mr. AGUILAR. We thank you for talking about that important
project, and we know that it was the only project that you sub-
mitted for the community funding project programs.
With that, we will go to Representative Darren Soto from Flor-
ida.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. DARREN SOTO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF FLORIDA
Mr. SOTO. Thank you, Chairman Aguilar, Ranking Member
Granger, and members of the Appropriations Committee. I wanted
to take a few minutes to give you some impressions about the new
budget process. Our new community budget funding request pro-
gram is an open and transparent process poised to fund key local
priorities in fast-growing central Florida and across the Nation.
The new rules, as we have seen them in working fashion, are pav-
ing the way for an ethical and transparent process worthy of the
Congress and our constituents. Hosting website notices and appli-
cations, requiring Members to sponsor these requests, making the
requests public, banning requests from for-profit businesses and al-
lowing the public enough time to scrutinize these requests are key
reforms, and they are instilling integrity, process, and trust into
our budget process again.
The day that the Appropriations Committee announced the
CBFRs, we immediately put out our notices on our official website
and social media and e-newsletter. We hosted a townhall with local
officials and administrators. We provided application tips and
deadlines, answered questions, and took suggestions. We gave ap-
plicants several weeks to apply but also enough time for a mean-
ingful review of these projects. We ended up selecting mostly local
government proposals since they were well vetted, demonstrated
strong support from the community, and had the sophistication and
wherewithal to spend said Federal funding and complete projects
in a timely manner. We also sent out public notice of all the se-
lected projects, which were well received by our local press.
Central Florida grew approximately 20 percent from 2010 to
2020, according to the U.S. Census. Our community has a great
need for higher-paying jobs, affordable housing, transportation
projects, among others. And, for years, these decisions were made
by D.C. bureaucrats, far removed from our community and rarely
accessible to elected Members of Congress. They never knew our
communities like Members do. As a result, this grant process was
a far cry from what our Founding Fathers anticipated when they
drafted article I, and I know you all feel the same.
We are starting to see our constituents understand the direct
value again between the taxes they pay and the local projects being
federally funded, and it is critical to a healthy Republic to keep our
constituents well informed on Federal spending locally and ensure
they see the value of their taxes and real progress made in our
communities.
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I hope you will give full and fair consideration to a couple key
projects that we put forward for our fast-growing region. First,
higher paying jobs. We put forward two solar projects at our local
high tech high school and our local community college that will not
only help with renewable energy, but students will learn how to op-
erate and construct solar panels and solar projects. Lake Wales, a
historically African-American town from the southern rural part of
my district, has had a rundown downtown for quite a while. This
project would allow for downtown streetscapes to be upgraded to
help small businesses there. In Winter Haven, we have an inter-
modal station where so many different goods come in. This would
allow for them to connect directly to the fiberoptic cable deep un-
derground to be able to speed up the technology to move goods.
Combating homelessness. Many in the tourism corridor who
work at the hotels and motels, they are home-insecure, and so the
Hope Center’s motel conversion would allow for rapid rehousing to
occur.
Protecting clean water. St. Cloud, another rural community in
our district, had issues with resin building up in their water sys-
tems, and this would help provide an alternative water supply for
this growing rural community.
Improving healthcare and public safety with a behavioral out-
reach mobile crisis unit to help those with mental health issues in
rural Cook County, as well as a new fire station in the historic Af-
rican-American area of Oakland and Haines City, one that has
eluded us for many years.
And, lastly, to promote arts and recreation, the Berlinsky House,
which they perform community theater in Kissimmee as well as
the Lake Nona Community Center in Orange County, a fast-grow-
ing area that lacks that sense of community without being able to
have public spaces for people to come together.
Thank you, everyone, for this opportunity, and I yield back.
[The information follows:]
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Mr. AGUILAR. I thank the gentleman from Florida, and we know
that you worked diligently with your local government partners to
come up with those projects, so I appreciate the advocacy of you
and your district staff in order to submit those requests. Thank you
so much.
With that, we will go to the gentlewoman from Michigan, Ms.
Tlaib.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. RASHIDA TLAIB, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF MICHIGAN
Ms. TLAIB. Thank you so much, Chair Aguilar, and thank you to
Chairwoman DeLauro for always being accessible to all of us and
of course, our ranking member of the committee, Ranking Member
Granger.
Many of you always wonder where my passion comes from, and
I always remind folks that I grew up in the most beautiful Blackest
city in the country, in the city of Detroit. You don’t only have one
mother in Detroit; you have what you call community mothers
watching over you, making sure that you are safe, fed and the
loved. And today I am not only just serving as their Congress Mem-
ber but as one of those community mothers, hoping that you will
all please help my neighbors.
I represent the third poorest congressional district in the coun-
try, and this means as a member, I am getting calls from mothers
asking me to help them find an early childhood education program,
not only for the development of their child but a place where their
child can eat twice a day.
I fight so hard to get to the root causes of water shutoffs. Up to
17,000 homes in my district faced water shutoffs alone. And it is
because when a mother gets her water shut off, Mr. Chair, not only
does she have no access to water, her children are taken away from
her, and this is simply wrong. This shouldn’t be happening, espe-
cially when in our State, in the State of Michigan, a multibillion
dollar corporation like Nestle is paying only $200 a year to extract
1 million gallons of water a day for profit. Since 2012, colleagues,
water bills have surged 31 percent across the Nation. This increase
in the cost of water is a faster increase than the price of groceries
and gasoline. An average American, our neighbors, our residents,
households will pay more for their water in 2 months than Nestle
will pay for a year, and this is outrageous and simply disgusting.
So, Mr. Chair, when I read about a retired couple—and this is
a true story in my district—they had to collect snow in a bucket
to allow it to melt so they can use it to flush their toilet. I knew
when I read that story that this was a major crisis, and later I
found out this is a national crisis across our country. Water is a
human right, and no American should be too poor to live in basic
comfort. I ask that you include language preventing all utility shut-
offs: water, power, broadband. As many communities are still
struggling to recover from the pandemic, we cannot allow these es-
sential services to be ripped away.
I can ask also please to support at the highest level of funding
for our clean water and drinking water State revolving funds. This
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is so critically important. These funds are critical to delivering
clean water to communities like ours and provides long overdue im-
provements to water infrastructure. Over 60 schools in one of my
cities placed garbage bags over their school drinking fountains be-
cause the water is too contaminated, just full of lead. Our children
deserve us to be bold and aggressive on addressing water crisis.
What happened to Flint, y’all, that experience, which still has not
truly been fixed, is happening across the country. The Low Income
Household Water Assistance Program is another program that
needs continued support at a higher level. But please know this:
We can’t just support what we call LIHWAP if we don’t also re-
quire reconnection services and allow us to use some of that fund-
ing for public plumbing services, which helps us get to the root
causes of the high water costs.
What is even worse about our continued support of LIHWAP is
that we cannot have a situation, this is exactly what we have,
where we have neighbors applying for assistance through LIHWAP,
and we fought really hard to get money in there, and then the
Water Department and the utility companies are not required to
reinstate access to water. Over 100 community advocacy organiza-
tions and public health organizations estimate that we need $4 bil-
lion to truly have a dent into helping our neighbors access water.
We cannot continue, y’all, to throw money at a crisis of this size
and not attach, again, requirements for reconnection services and
also provisions that ensure our residents are protected and that the
program gets again to the root causes of the high cost of water.
With that, Mr. Chair, and again, Ranking Member Granger, I
hope that you will look to me as a resource in the city of Detroit
and my district rebirth movements, not only labor rights move-
ments, the civil rights movement, but this movement on access to
water. It was birthed right here. And we hope that you look to us
not only as a resource but also to tell the human stories behind
what is happening in doing nothing about the water crisis. Thank
you, and I yield.
Mr. AGUILAR. Thank you so much, Representative Tlaib. We
know that you are a passionate advocate for your communities and
have been such a thought leader on the issues about water and
food security and poverty programs within our communities, so
thanks so much.
With that, we will go to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee from
Texas.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF TEXAS
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Good morning. It is still morning here. Thank
you so very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the ranking
member for your leadership and, of course, our chairman’s leader-
ship, Rosa DeLauro. Collectively, the Appropriations Committee is
working very hard, and I am very grateful for that.
This time that we have is really a hand up and not a handout.
Our communities want hands up. They want to be able to self-help.
And the idea of the new transparent and very effective opportunity
for community projects is crucial to languishing communities. I
want to applaud my mayor, who has established something called
the Communities Projects or Complete Communities, which is to
work on these inner city communities, as well areas that are al-
most rural, to be able to say, ‘‘You count.’’
I want to share with you the structure that we use. This is show
and tell. I think you can see it. We have something called accounts
eligible for community project requests. We went right to our
website and made sure all of our community was aware. We en-
gaged with our partners and discussed with them how best to be
effective in their presentations, and now I come to you hopefully to
secure your consideration of these very important projects.
One that we are really invested in is our young people. I chair
the Congressional Children’s Caucus, and so the Fifth Ward Com-
munity Redevelopment Project, and I have been very modest in my
request, $1 million, that has a court system in the inner city that
will support a juvenile justice diversion program right in the inner
city where Barbara Jordan was born, working with Pleasant Hill
Ministries in partnership with the Harris County District Attor-
ney’s Office, a critically needed community program that has as-
sisted an average of 100 children each year. It will provide for a
diversion as opposed to going in, quotes, ‘‘downtown’’ and winding
up in the juvenile jail or maybe in the Harris County jail. It has
saved so many lives in diversion, and this would help us do even
more.
The East End recipient, the funding would construct the Bethune
Empowerment Center and the East End, a facility for Latino arts,
merging the Black and Brown community, which is so crucial,
building up an arts center in one area and building up an em-
powerment center, an incubator for businesses in another historic
community called Acres Home. What a perfect matching to come
together, and that is my project for $4 million.
Then, of course, the historic program at the historic Booker T.
Washington High School. We know Booker T. Washington is one of
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our leaders in the idea of working with one’s hands and building
up. This school has a great idea, getting with climate change,
teaching our children about our food education and production,
working with a garden, helping to raise beds that will deal with
carbon dioxide, a wind farm. What a wonderful and important re-
sponsibility for our children.
The Houston Independent School District Program, again project
engagement, that is a million dollar project dealing with emotional
learning for our children, which is so very important. The city of
San Jacinto, one of my small cities. Again, what do they need?
Water. And so this project will allow water distribution lines that
are at least 75 years old to——
[Audio difficulty]
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Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Wilson, we are waiting on Representative
Jackson Lee to see if she can join us back. She had some tech
issues. On deck we have Ms. Schrier, but if we can figure out your
issues and get your video, then you will be after that, if that is
okay.
Mr. WILSON OF SOUTH CAROLINA. That will be fine. Thank you.
Mr. AGUILAR. Thank you so much. But let’s see if we can sort out
the video as well.
Ms. Schrier, why don’t we go to you. We will pause and give Rep-
resentative Jackson Lee her 90 seconds back when she joins us, but
feel free to start. Thanks for joining us.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. KIM SCHRIER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF WASHINGTON
Ms. SCHRIER. Thank you, Chairman Aguilar, and Ranking Mem-
ber Granger as well. I appreciate the opportunity to share my pri-
orities on behalf of Washington State’s Eighth Congressional Dis-
trict. I am proud of all the community projects and programmatic
appropriations requests I submitted this year. However, with to-
day’s time constraints, I just want to highlight a few.
So, as you consider funding for fiscal year 2022, I would love to
express my strong support to improve our Nation’s recycling sys-
tem with a specific focus on plastics recycling. The 2020 study by
the EPA found that the current U.S. recycling system faces several
challenges, including confusion about what materials can be recy-
cled and recycling infrastructure that has not kept pace with to-
day’s diverse and changing and increasing waste stream.
And to help address some of these challenges, my letter to appro-
priators asked for more funding for two of the EPA’s recycling
grant programs. One, the Post-Consumer Materials Management
Infrastructure Grant Program provides Federal funding to help
strengthen local recycling programs. Local government serves as
the backbone for our Nation’s recycling system, assuming nearly
full responsibility for the cost of residential recycling education, col-
lection, and operation, and these funds will provide local govern-
ments with the resources they need.
The other is the trash-free water drinking water infrastructure
and wastewater infrastructure grant programs. Debris, particularly
plastic pollution, is a global crisis. Now, these grant programs pro-
vide the needed funds to keep plastic waste and other post-con-
sumer materials out of landfills and waterways, helping to protect
our health, well-being, and the environment. The need for us to
manage our own waste has become especially urgent since foreign
recycling operations no longer accept U.S. plastics. Strengthening
recycling infrastructures and markets for recycled products within
communities across the Nation is imperative to increasing the eco-
nomic and viability of a recycling system.
The next priority I would love to bring to your attention is fund-
ing within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness
and Response, or ASPR, to continue development of rapid, at-home
COVID–19 tests as well as support for interagency coordinated
testing strategy. Even as vaccines are rolling out and offer a light
at the end of the tunnel, we know that COVID–19 continues to cir-
culate and mutate. And, without widely available, inexpensive
rapid testing, this will continue to be a difficult disease to control.
So easily accessible tests with a fast result that can be taken at
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home, school, the workplace, without a prescription can help Amer-
icans minimize the risk of infection, whichever course this disease
takes. This is especially important now for families with younger
children who don’t yet have access to the vaccine. Large scale sur-
veillance and use of rapid testing will allow childcare facilities and
schools to open and stay open and will reassure many parents.
Finally, I would like to highlight two of my community project
funding submissions. The month of May marks the beginning of
traditional wildfire season. However, my State has already had
well over 200 fires this year. If funded, the Cle Elum Ridge phase
1 wildfire protection plan will initiate a series of forest manage-
ment interventions to help prevent wildfires from getting out of
control.
The Washington Department of Natural Resources identified the
city of Roslyn within the Cle Elum as one of our State’s commu-
nities at greatest risk. In 2017, the Jolly Mountain fire threatened
the City of Roslyn and the surrounding communities, and the sup-
pression cost for the Jolly Mountain fire exceeded $35 million. Had
the proposed forest health work been done, Jolly Mountain would
likely have been a managed fire with far less threat to the commu-
nity and firefighters and far reduced suppression costs. So please
consider the critical role this will play and an example for other
communities.
Another project is the school-based health clinic at Graham-
Kapowsin High School. This construction will help provide a health
clinic to support the medical, dental, and behavioral health needs
of approximately 3,500 students on campus. The proposed clinic
would serve a rural population in great need of care, and having
a facility like this on campus will help reach students quickly.
Lastly, I was incredibly excited to see President Biden’s budget
that includes two of my other priorities, the Legacy Roads and
Trails Program, and also proposed extension to the increase in the
WIC cash value vouchers for fresh fruits and vegetables. So thank
you for your consideration, and I yield back.
[The information follows:]
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Mr. AGUILAR. Thanks so much, Dr. Schrier. We appreciate your
advocacy. We saw the project list on water, wastewater, wildfire
management, all representative of your district, and we appreciate
it. So thanks so much for joining us.
Dr. SCHRIER. Thank you for the opportunity.
Mr. AGUILAR. Committee members, we are going to—I thought
we had Representative Jackson Lee. If she comes back, we will give
her her 90 seconds.
Next on the list we have Representative Wilson for 5 minutes,
Joe Wilson.
And then, Miss González-Colón, you are on deck.
Go ahead, Mr. Wilson.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. JOE WILSON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Acting Chairman Pete Aguilar
and Ranking Member Kay Granger, thank you for your leadership
on the committee. I am representing the Second District, and
grateful of South Carolina, and the home of the historic Savannah
River Site.
The Savannah River Site was constructed during the early 1950s
to support national defense programs for victory in the Cold War.
The site maintains the responsibility 70 years later through its Na-
tional Laboratory, NNSA missions, and environmental cleanup.
I ask the committee to consider the following for the site:
To support the President’s budget for the Savannah River Pluto-
nium Processing Facility and the Savannah River Plutonium Oper-
ations.
As part of the two-site solution to plutonium pit production, the
facility will provide the capability of producing no fewer than 80
plutonium pits per year by 2030.
With pits in our national nuclear inventory aging over 60 years,
our Nation cannot afford to reach a point where we question
whether or not the nuclear weapons work.
I support the President’s No. 2 request for the Tritium Finishing
Facility. The site is home to the Savannah River Tritium Enter-
prise, which prepares the Nation’s only tritium supply for our na-
tional defense.
This new facility will replace an aged facility constructed in the
1950s that currently faces age-related problems and maintenance
costs that could jeopardize tritium production operations necessary
to maintain the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
Three, support the President’s budget request for the Surplus
Plutonium Disposition Project. This project at the site will safely
dispose of 24 metric tons of surplus plutonium through the dilute-
and-dispose process.
This project requires the installation of three new gloveboxes,
ventilation, fire protection, and other support equipment to expand
the existing facility.
Four, $11.549 million for the Savannah River Site community
and regulatory support. This secures payment in lieu of taxes for
Aiken, Barnwell, and Allendale Counties, where the site is located,
which I represent with Congressman Jim Clyburn.
This funding request matches what has been appropriated in
prior years, and payments go to support local school districts, emer-
gency services, and county operations.
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Number 5, $543,784 for the Savannah River Risk Management
Operations. This request will allow critical missions, like H-Canyon
at the SRS, to proceed uninterrupted and continue processing of
spent nuclear fuels.
These funds will also maintain operations aligned with the Liq-
uid Waste Life Cycle Program, cover necessary replacements to
aged equipment, and provide critical infrastructure improvements.
Six, $1.046 billion for the Savannah River Radioactive Liquid
Tank Waste Stabilization and Disposition. This request includes
continuation of hot operations of the Solid Waste Processing Facil-
ity, the Defense Waste Processing Facility, as well as continued
construction of saltstone disposal units to accommodate the in-
creased amount of waste being processed.
Seven, $80 million for the Savannah River Nuclear Laboratory
Radiological Facilities. The Savannah River National Laboratory
operates a suite of RAD facilities that provide technical and oper-
ations support for NNSA missions.
And effective June 2021, the lab will become a separate Manage-
ment and Operations contract. To cover the high cost of operating
and maintaining radiological facilities, the lab overhead rate would
increase significantly, making the laboratory uncompetitive for nu-
merous nonradiological programs at the laboratory.
By creating a control point for the lab, it should prevent this
problem and allow the Savannah River Nuclear Laboratory to safe-
ly operate the radiological facilities.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate your
consideration of the requests. And, again, thank you, Acting Chair-
man Aguilar, for being so accommodating, along with Ranking
Member Kay Granger.
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112
Mr. AGUILAR. Of course, of course. Thank you. And it doesn’t sur-
prise anyone on this committee your advocacy for the Savannah
River National Lab. As someone who served on the Armed Services
Committee with you, I know your passion about these issues and
a strong national defense and protecting our country with the work
that the labs do. So thank you so much.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Thank you.
Mr. AGUILAR. Representative González-Colón,you are recognized
for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. JENNIFFER GONZÁLEZ-COLÓN, A RESIDENT COMMISSIONER
FROM PUERTO RICO
Miss GONZÁLEZ-COLÓN. Thank you for allowing me. And I want
to thank Chairwoman DeLauro and Ranking Member Granger for
the opportunity to testify on some of Puerto Rico’s priorities for the
next fiscal year.
I would like to focus my testimony today on the ten Community
Project Funding requests I submitted on behalf of my constituents
for the committee’s consideration. These span a variety of issues
crucial for both low-income and rural communities on the island,
including water infrastructure improvement, food security, public
safety, services for underserved populations, and projects to spur
economic development.
First, I am requesting the committee provide the necessary fund-
ing to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to finally begin the con-
struction phase of the Cano Martin Pena Ecosystem Restoration
Project.
This is an authorized project that will help address detrimental
conditions currently challenging the health and well-being of ap-
proximately 26,000 residents across eight communities in San
Juan, the area’s economic development, and critical infrastructure,
like the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan.
I am also requesting funding for the Inter American University
of Puerto Rico, Barranquitas Campus, to build the Center for Food
Security and Sustainable Agriculture, which will expand their lab-
oratory capabilities and maximize agriculture production by devel-
oping in vitro seeds to be used by local farmers and researchers.
These will in turn support food security, agricultural research,
and crop production in Puerto Rico, all while assisting the econo-
mies of our rural municipalities on the island’s mountainous cen-
tral region.
To improve public safety in the rural municipality of Utuado, I
requested assistance under the Byrne JAG account to help pur-
chase law enforcement equipment for the municipal police force, in-
cluding bulletproof vests and technological equipment.
I also have submitted a request on behalf of SER of Puerto Rico,
a nonprofit organization on the island that is seeking funding to fi-
nance a program to support the comprehensive development of chil-
dren diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Puerto Rico
from the ages of 18 months to 6 years based on the principles of
Applied Behavioral Analysis.
Lastly, I submitted six requests under the Economic Develop-
ment Initiative account to address pressing needs in some of our
low-income communities.
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For instance, funding to build stormwater infrastructure in the
only public landfill in the municipality of Lajas and help extend its
use by 25 years.
Assistance to the municipality of Yauco to fund construction of
a new well and other improvements for the community water sys-
tem in Rubias sector, a low-income rural community that has his-
torically lacked reliable water service.
Funding for the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture to reha-
bilitate and address some of the infrastructure needs of the
Jarealito Fishing Village in Arecibo. This will be crucial to ensure
it complies with appropriate food safety standards and can con-
tinue to support fishing activities, which are one of the main eco-
nomic drivers of nearby low-income coastal communities.
Financial assistance to the Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico
to rehabilitate an unused public school they acquired to build their
new community facility in the municipality of San Lorenzo, and
thus make it suitable to serve students, residents, and their em-
ployees.
On behalf of the municipality of Patillas, funding to rehabilitate
the Bosque Forestal, a forest recreation area. And on behalf of the
municipality of Vega Alta, a request to fund the construction of an
agritourism complex. Both projects seek to promote tourism and
generate economic growth in these areas.
I respectfully ask the committee to consider all ten of these re-
quests, which have strong community support and will help ad-
dress important issues on the island.
So thank you, and I yield back.
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118
Mr. AGUILAR. Thank you, Representative González-Colón, for
your advocacy on behalf of the island. We appreciate it and we
have those items that you submitted.
With that, we will go to Representative Fitzpatrick from Pennsyl-
vania, followed by Representative Sherman from California.
Mr. Fitzpatrick, you have 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. FITZPATRICK. I thank the chairman and the ranking member
for convening this Member Day hearing, and I would like to speak
briefly about my top appropriations requests.
Mr. Chairman, our country is currently facing an array of chal-
lenges relating to infrastructure, relating to immigration, relating
to healthcare, as well as the ongoing struggles of the COVID–19
pandemic.
And despite these realities, most Members of Congress currently
receive an annual salary of approximately $170,000 a year, which
is more than approximately 90 percent of American households.
A question we should all be asking: Why should Members of Con-
gress whose job it is to serve the American people receive a pay
raise when our constituents are struggling to pay their bills? The
answer is clear: We shouldn’t.
And I commend the Legislative Branch Subcommittee for includ-
ing language during fiscal year 2021 that prevented Members of
Congress from receiving a pay raise. And I hope that we can push
this issue even further by adding that language to the appropria-
tions bill for fiscal year 2022.
Specifically, Mr. Chairman, I would ask that the language be
written into the appropriations bill to state that no adjustment be
made under Section 601(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of
1946 related to the cost of living adjustments for Members of Con-
gress.
Representing our communities in Congress, as we all know, is all
about public service, and that is why including this language is
vital to moving our country forward in a bipartisan, bicameral way.
Another issue, Mr. Chairman, I would like to bring to your atten-
tion is the impact that PFAS chemicals are having on so many of
our communities, including ours in suburban Philadelphia, in
Pennsylvania.
These forever chemicals, which are used in everyday items, have
been found in high concentrations in sources of drinking water and
other sites around the country.
Mr. Chairman, in my own district, I have been actively working
with local officials to address PFAS contamination experienced by
communities surrounding the former Naval Air Warfare Center in
Warminster and the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint
Reserve Base, as well as the Horsham Air Guard Station.
We need to crack down on these harmful chemicals to keep our
constituents safe from contaminated water. Earlier this year,
alongside my colleagues on the Congressional PFAS Task Force, we
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sent a letter to the President with nearly 100 cosigners asking to
work with the administration on these PFAS issues, and specifi-
cally we raised the need to institute a national drinking water
standard and designate even more PFAS chemicals as hazardous.
There are more than 700 active military installations around the
country with PFAS contamination, and on March 24 of 2021, Paul
Cramer, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Sustainment, testified that it would cost approximately $2 to $3
billion to fully clean up PFAS contamination at and around current
and former military bases.
And I ask that there be an increased funding for PFAS cleanup.
This is a necessary step to ensure that a vigorous and successful
cleanup is actually carried out. And as the co-chair of the Congres-
sional PFAS Task Force, we are going to continue to fight for our
communities’ rights to safe and clean drinking water.
Mr. Chairman and the Ranking Member, I appreciate your con-
sideration of these important priorities that I have spoken about
here today, and I yield back.
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Mr. AGUILAR. Thank you so much, Representative Fitzpatrick.
We appreciate your work on the PFAS Task Force, and I know this
committee does not take that issue lightly. Chairwoman DeLauro
and Defense Chairwoman McCollum have been having conversa-
tions with committee members about this topic. So thanks for your
continued work on this.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Thank you.
Mr. AGUILAR. Of course.
Representative Sherman from California, you have 5 minutes.
Mr. SHERMAN. Thank you.
I may start by taking just a minute to disagree with Mr.
Fitzpatrick. I do not think—the decision is not whether Members
of Congress get a pay raise, but whether we get an inflation adjust-
ment. We have passed up the inflation [audio malfunction.]
Mr. AGUILAR. We lost your audio there, Brad.
Mr. SHERMAN. Can I be heard?
Mr. AGUILAR. Yes, we can hear you.
Mr. SHERMAN. As I was saying [audio malfunction.]
Mr. AGUILAR. We are going to go to—Brad, I am sorry. We are
going to start you over and sort that out.
If we could go to Representative Cloud, and then we will come
right back to you, Brad. You will be on deck. I am sorry about that.
Representative Cloud.
Mr. CLOUD. Well, thank you, Chair, and if I have similar issues,
you can count it up probably from both of us as just a good strong
case for rural broadband.
Thank you, Chair, thank you, Ranking Member, for allowing us
to come and speak to you today [audio malfunction] Important
power of the purse, of course, with Congress.
Spending taxpayer dollars is a weighty responsibility that we all
take seriously, and that is why at the end of April I sent [audio
malfunction.]
Mr. AGUILAR. Representative Cloud, I am sorry. We are having
some of the same——
Mr. CLOUD. OK. Well——
Mr. AGUILAR. But it is working now, so let’s go with it, but I will
interrupt you if we have some issues.
Mr. CLOUD. [audio malfunction] Direct the Congressional Budget
Office and [audio malfunction.]
Mr. AGUILAR. We are going to have to pause that. I am sorry. I
just want to make sure that the committee can hear your testi-
mony.
Mr. CLOUD. Yes, sir. I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Mr. AGUILAR. So we will pause that and sort it out and get a lit-
tle bit of technical help.
We are working to get the next Member in, colleagues. As a re-
minder, we have got two folks sorting out audio issues in the
breakout room, and I think we still have Ms. Jackson Lee with 90
seconds remaining that we will offer to give her back. But I believe
we also have another colleague that is joining us here shortly. So
appreciate your patience and sticking with us.
Mr. COLE. Mr. Chair, while we are waiting, I just want to con-
gratulate you on your dream catcher in the background. I have got
two great Choctaw pieces behind, and I should tilt this, because
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they are like cattle horns with, again, the appropriate feather ac-
companiment. But it pleases me to see you have a restful atmos-
phere where you are at.
Mr. AGUILAR. Yeah. We need it in this line of work, don’t we, Mr.
Cole?
Mr. COLE. I think every office should have a dream catcher.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, am I on now, or I need to wait?
Mr. AGUILAR. If we can get your video working, then we can pro-
ceed.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. OK. I can see myself, but you are saying you
can’t see me.
Mr. AGUILAR. We cannot see you, Ms. Jackson Lee.
Mr. SHERMAN. Can I do an audio check here? Can I be heard?
Mr. AGUILAR. Yeah. Mr. Sherman, we can hear you, but we can-
not see you.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Oh, I see. So we have to wait, Mr. Chairman,
on your side, your tech side? Is that what you are saying?
Mr. AGUILAR. Correct. Let me get the OK and see where we are
going next. Apologies. But we can hear you both clearly. And I
know Mr. Cloud also put in the chat that he was having some
bandwidth issues as well. So let me get a little bit of clarity, and
we will come back.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. We are very appreciative. Thank you so very
much.
Mr. AGUILAR. Of course. No, thanks for your patience. We appre-
ciate it.
Oh, Ms. Jackson Lee, there you go. We can see you.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. And can you hear me?
Mr. AGUILAR. We can hear you and we can see you. So my recol-
lection was you had 90 seconds, but please feel free to finish your
testimony to the committee.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. First of all, thank you for the courtesies of
this committee. I think you have all seen me over the years, how
much I value the opportunity.
So let me quickly, I think I know where I was, I will just start
again with Texas Southern University, historically Black college.
And, again, I try to emphasize to be as fiscally responsible as pos-
sible. But this will fund the urban public health initiatives dealing
with health professions, education and workforce development, sort
of overlaying the inner cities’ impact by COVID–19.
My request for the funding for the Houston Community College
is a regional resiliency operations center, again for training. That
is a major issue dealing with our community.
And as I see on the screen the chair of the committee dealing
with homeland security, we are the epicenter of disaster and the
need for mitigation. And so we need these kinds of trained profes-
sionals and we appreciate your consideration.
The Port of Houston, this is our economic engine. In Hurricane
Harvey it suffered extensively. It is a manmade port, and this
funding will help to begin the sedimentation study which happens
all the time, the increased sedimentation.
Let me bring my remarks to a close as I mention the President’s
American Rescue Plan that needs to help speed the delivery of
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METRO’s transit plan, which includes the following dollars for
light rail, for bus rapid transit.
These are dollars within your purview, $2.10 billion, which will
impact the growth of my Houston METRO, which is a young tran-
sit system in a city that is overwhelmed by traffic.
$3.23 billion for bus rapid, $1.56 billion for a new and improved
high occupancy rate, $175 million for enhancement of high fre-
quency, and $414 million for new and improved Park and Ride. I
support all of that. And the METRONext is a $7.5 billion, 20-year
transit plan that was approved by the voters.
We are in need of the ending of our excessive carbon and air pol-
lution, and we appreciate it.
I am concluding on this. The committee is cognizant of the
vulnerabilities of the safety and security of persons, property, and
interests working or located in the U.S. Capitol and its environ-
ments.
The insurrection that occurred on January 6, when an incited
mob of domestic terrorists, White nationalists and supremacists
laid siege to the Capitol building in order to disrupt a constitu-
tionally mandated duty of the Congress, was a dark stain on the
Nation’s history, exacerbated by the fact that we saw our brave law
enforcement, but tragically we heard, and reports show, that those
who took the oath—law enforcement officers, members of the mili-
tary, and civil service and contractors—were part of that mob.
The U.S. intelligence community has assessed that domestic ter-
rorism, particularly White supremacy and White nationalist orga-
nizations, is the greatest and most imminent threat to our Nation
and democratic form of government.
The committee applauds the service and sacrifice of men and
women who serve the American people in the civilian and military
sectors of government.
However, I would appreciate language being considered by this
committee that cautions and directs the Secretary of all agencies
to exercise vigilance and take decisive action to identify, isolate,
and remove from service individuals whose actions on January 6,
2021, at the U.S. Capitol, or whose connections, actions, or affili-
ations with White nationalist organizations pose a threat to the se-
curity of the United States.
Actions the Secretary should take include undertaking an imme-
diate review of a clearance when a security clearance holder is re-
ported to have engaged in violent acts against individuals, prop-
erty, or public spaces based on the security clearance holder’s asso-
ciation or sympathy with persons or organizations that advocate,
threaten, or use force or violence or any other illegal or unconstitu-
tional means in an effort to prevent others from exercising their
rights under the Constitution.
I would appreciate it if this language would be considered be-
cause people in service to this Nation who have taken an oath
should not be, in contrast, fighting against this Nation and partici-
pating in an insurrection.
Mr. AGUILAR. Thank you, Ms. Jackson Lee.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. I appreciate your consideration of my projects.
And we work very hard to interact with our community, and they
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are sitting on their chairs with bated breath as to whether or not
they will have an opportunity to receive these funds.
I thank you for your courtesy in this great, great effort that we
have.
Mr. AGUILAR. We thank the Congresswoman from Texas. And,
again, thanks for your patience and apologies for that delay.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you.
Mr. AGUILAR. We are going to go to Representative Bowman from
New York, and then we will circle back to Mr. Sherman after Mr.
Bowman.
Mr. Bowman, you have 5 minutes. Thanks for joining us.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. JAMAAL BOWMAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Mr. BOWMAN. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you,
Chair DeLauro and Ranking Member Granger, for the opportunity
to testify before the Appropriations Committee today.
I recently had the opportunity to testify before the Labor, HHS,
Education Subcommittee and at this time would like to expand on
that testimony, now that we have President Biden’s complete budg-
et request for the upcoming fiscal year.
I deeply appreciate the incredible work this committee carries
out under your leadership, not only for our regular fiscal year
spending but for the COVID relief packages and the anticipated in-
frastructure package.
I am here to testify in support of robust investments in programs
that directly impact children and families in my district, which cov-
ers parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, New York.
I will start off by noting my support for President Biden’s budget
request, which reflects an understanding of the moment we find
ourselves in as a Nation. Modest, incremental plus-ups to histori-
cally underfunded programs will never match the care and repair
our communities need due to compounding crises, such as COVID–
19, racial injustice, gun violence, growing wealth inequality, and
the climate crisis.
This is not a disparate list. These are all interconnected and ex-
tremely traumatic. Without meaningful aid to our communities,
our children and families can very quickly find themselves isolated
and unsupported.
I commend this budget request for recognizing the need for sub-
stantial investments. We need to build upon it, not whittle it down
further. I strongly urge that we don’t negotiate ourselves out of fi-
nally securing a healthy and safe future for all our children, com-
munities, and the planet.
I previously testified in support of strong investments for all
early childhood education programs, such as Head Start and the
Child Care Development Block Grant, as well as full-service com-
munity schools, IDEA, and Title II–A funding.
I would like to build on that testimony and address two more pri-
orities for the committee’s consideration as it writes the spending
bills for fiscal year 2022.
As a former teacher, school counselor, and middle school prin-
cipal, I think it is only right that the subcommittee responsible for
education funding at the Federal level enjoys the largest share of
nondefense spending.
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I am encouraged to see that the Biden administration clearly un-
derstands we need to substantially invest in Title I. What we really
ought to do is quadruple Title I funding, which would make a
meaningful impact for students, teachers, and families in my dis-
trict and many others across the country. A significant down pay-
ment towards that is the next best thing.
However, I am cautious about the proposal to carve out $20 bil-
lion under Title I with a new formula that we have limited details
about. I am concerned that this funding could be available for char-
ter schools at a time where we need, at minimum, more oversight
over charter schools, not additional funding sources when they al-
ready access a multitude, including through the New Market Tax
Credit.
This is particularly concerning to me with respect to charter
schools that contract with for-profit entities. I would strongly rec-
ommend that the committee include the funding level requested for
Title I but maintain its current funding formula.
I want to commend this budget proposal for investing in
broadband and would urge that we build upon it. Inequitable ac-
cess to broadband took a substantial impact on students and fami-
lies during the pandemic. We saw students trying to use the WiFi
in local restaurants and trying to complete homework on a cell
phone. People struggled to apply online for jobs. Families couldn’t
reliably communicate with loved ones.
This is a particularly limiting hardship for HARP-assisted house-
holds who often receive inadequate access to the internet.
We need to rethink broadband as a basic utility, which is why
I introduced the Broadband Justice Act earlier this Congress to es-
tablish a new grant program that would expand affordable
broadband access to millions of families living in subsidized hous-
ing.
My bill would further update utility allowance definitions used
by HUD, Treasury, and the USDA to include broadband as a sub-
sidized utility, in addition to retrofitting subsidized housing with
the necessary wiring for high quality broadband.
My district includes Co-op City in the Bronx, which is the largest
affordable housing community in the country. I strongly urge the
committee to direct HUD to analyze this topic specifically and
make their findings available 1 year after enactment and that we
further explore mechanisms for providing high quality subsidized
broadband to assist households, including through the expansion of
monthly utility subsidies, to include broadband.
Thank you, and I yield back my time.
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Mr. AGUILAR. Thank you, Representative Bowman. We appre-
ciate it.
And for those scoring at home, they know we have Members from
all over the country have our own broadband issues here as well.
So we know that many investments are needed. But thanks for
your work on behalf of your constituents related to that.
The committee has your request, and we appreciate your time
here today.
Representative Sherman, I think we have you.
Mr. SHERMAN. Thank you. Can I be heard?
Mr. AGUILAR. Yes, yes, you may. If you could start at the top
again, Representative Sherman, that would be great.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. BRAD SHERMAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Mr. SHERMAN. I will start by just taking a minute to disagree
with one of the former speakers—I think it was Mr. Fitzpatrick—
who argued against any cost of living increase for Members of Con-
gress.
First, this isn’t a pay increase. It is keeping up with inflation,
and inflation has been modest, I realize.
Second, over the last 20 years, the purchasing power of what
Members of Congress get paid has dropped by over 20 percent. I,
for one, don’t think I am 20 percent less valuable now than I was
when I first arrived.
People in Congress tend to have some talents that the private
sector would prize, and if we are in a situation where the differen-
tial between what someone makes in the private sector and what
one makes in Congress is enormous, then the only people who will
serve in Congress are people so wealthy that the congressional sal-
ary is an irrelevancy to them.
I want to thank this committee for, since 2012, including in its
base text the War Powers Act enforcement provision. This was
added in 2011 due to a floor vote, and the committee has included
it in every bill since then.
It provides that no money shall be spent in contravention of the
War Powers Act, and in the opinion of many constitutional schol-
ars, is the thing that would make the War Powers Act, which is
the only limit on the President just sending troops anywhere, any-
time, for any reason, it is the only thing that would make it en-
forceable on a President.
So I urge you to continue to do what you have been doing, and
that is including it in the base text.
I want to urge you to provide $2 million in funding for the people
of Artsakh, particularly mine removal, and to include language pre-
venting any aid to Azerbaijan until it changes its policies.
I request that you provide $2 million for Sindhi language out-
reach by the Voice of America so that we can reach the people of
southern Pakistan. We are talking about 30 million people for
whom Sindhi is their primary language, and reaching these people
is so important. And the amount I am suggesting here is $2 mil-
lion.
I also have a request for the Middle East, which is both the
smallest and the least controversial item involving the Middle
East, and that is $6 million for the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation
Agreement, and an additional $2 million for bilateral cooperation
on COVID and developing treatments and vaccines.
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Keep in mind that these programs are paid half by Israeli tax-
payers and half by American taxpayers, and therefore we get dou-
ble the bang for the buck.
Two issues that relate to the quality of life in my part of the
world but other parts of the world as well.
The first is, the whole Quiet Skies Caucus has urged you to in-
clude language telling the FAA to prioritize airport noise as an im-
portant issue in making its decisions. I think it is critical that that
language be included.
And then second, we have, immediately adjacent to the city lim-
its of Los Angeles, the Santa Susana Field Lab, a site with both
chemical and nuclear waste that needs to be cleaned up, and that
I hope that you will provide the highest possible funding, both to
NASA and the Department of Energy, who both have toxic nuclear
waste at that location, to make it so that they will do the cleanup
that they have promised to do and contracted to do.
And with that, I yield back.
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Mr. AGUILAR. We appreciate your testimony, Representative
Sherman, and thanks so much for your patience in letting us navi-
gate that. So the committee appreciates the time.
With that, we will go to Representative Cloud from Texas. I
think we have things sorted out.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. MICHAEL CLOUD, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF TEXAS
Mr. CLOUD. Thank you. We will give it another go. And I appre-
ciate yours and the committee’s patience on this. Basically, I want-
ed to take a moment to bring the committee’s attention to some
language we submitted back in April.
We all know that our responsibility to manage the power of the
purse [audio malfunction]. Spending taxpayer dollars is a weighty
responsibility. That is why, at the end of April, I submitted a lan-
guage request to the Legislative Branch Subcommittee that I hope
will be included in the final bill.
This language request would direct the Congressional Budget Of-
fice, in coordination with the Joint Committee on Taxation, to
study the feasibility of including in their cost estimates the associ-
ated costs of debt servicing and a list of duplicate programs.
Without these two pieces of information, Members of Congress
are left to evaluate legislation based on an incomplete or even inac-
curate understanding of the facts.
Folks back home understand this. If you were to purchase a car,
for example, and only looked at the list price without calculating
the interest, you would find out that the car costs a lot more than
you were expecting.
And that happens with bills here in Congress. In essence, we do
the same thing by not considering the comprehensive budgetary
impact of spending and taxing proposals. This distorts congres-
sional decisionmaking in favor of more spending and debt accumu-
lation that might otherwise be the case.
Simply put, including the debt servicing cost and legislation cost
estimates will better equip us to make informed spending deci-
sions.
This language request does one other important thing that would
help us make better spending decisions. It requires cost estimates
to include a list of duplicative programs within the covered legisla-
tion.
If cost estimates were required to point out duplication, it would
give Members helpful direction in knowing how to better use tax-
payer dollars.
Thankfully, this is not a Republican or Democrat issue. Last
Congress, Representative Ed Case and I worked closely together to
lead a bicameral, bipartisan letter to the chairs and ranking mem-
bers of the House and Senate Budget Committees requesting they
direct the CBO to include debt-servicing costs in all legislative cost
estimates produced.
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Lastly, on May 12, 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics an-
nounced that inflation had grown by 4.2 percent over the last year,
the largest 12-month increase since September 2008.
Well before the inflation announcement was made, CBO had
been estimating the net interest costs ‘‘would exceed other manda-
tory spending by 2030, exceed all discretionary spending by 2043,
and surpass spending for Social Security by 2045.’’
If this inflation is sustained interest rates will rise and rapidly
advance the timeline in which debt servicing eclipses all other
spending. Reining in our debt and deficits only gets harder the
longer we wait. That is in part because our interest rates have
been historically low.
Again, this isn’t a red or blue, Republican or Democrat issue.
This is simply a good governance issue that hopefully we can all
get behind. I hope we will consider including the language in the
final bill to begin the process moving forward on this issue.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to appear here today.
Thank you for your time.
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146
Mr. AGUILAR. Thank you so much for your patience, Representa-
tive Cloud, and we appreciate your work on that and the submit-
tals that you have to Leg Branch. Thanks so much.
With that, I will hand it back over to Chairwoman DeLauro.
The CHAIR [presiding]. Thank you so much. I want to thank you,
my colleague and friend, for picking up the baton here and getting
us through. It is exciting that we have so many Members who are
participating today, but I am really grateful for your work here.
And I also think I see Congressman Cole, who is on as well, who
recently underwent surgery. So he really is a trooper here.
And thank you, thank you, thank you. Looking for a speedy re-
covery for you.
But thank you very, very much, Congressman Aguilar.
And with that, I will recognize Congressman Lamb from Penn-
sylvania.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. CONOR LAMB, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. LAMB. Thank you, Madam Chair, for all of your hard work
on this and for opening up this process for us. I am just going to
run through these very quickly because I know how many people
you have waiting.
My first two Community Projects under Commerce, Justice, and
Science both relate to police departments here in my district.
The first is the Communication System Improvement Project. It
is a $223,000-odd request. People have commented on rural
broadband during this hearing. In a lot of places the issue is actu-
ally connectivity more broadly, so it kind of incorporates bad inter-
net and difficult cell phone service. And this is really part of that
problem with we have a lot of small police agencies trying to com-
municate with each other, and this would really help.
We also have a request for about $550,000 for body-worn cam-
eras. Obviously, given the events of last summer and the daily
struggle for transparency and accountability for law enforcement,
but also the ability of law enforcement to show the actual truth of
encounters, it kind of benefits both sides, and it is a very important
thing for our county.
A couple of water-related projects under Interior, Environment
that I just wanted to highlight. One in particular, Center Grange
Road Waterline Replacement for a little less than a million dollars.
This is a great example of why these community projects are
such a good idea, because I know from representing this area that
this is an economic hotbed right now. We have one of the largest
construction sites in the country essentially right next to this town,
and they are building a giant factory, and yet their water infra-
structure is really designed for a time when it was all farmland.
So that would be a hard thing to communicate to bureaucrats in
Washington, but hopefully the committee can support these water
projects that we need.
I also just wanted to talk briefly about a couple of other impor-
tant requests. We have one for the Coraopolis Train Station, which
is kind of the center, geographically, of my district.
Again, it would be hard to communicate on paper to a bureaucrat
what this means to the community, but it is an old train station,
like a hundred years old, that kind of sits right in the center of the
town. And volunteers with their own sweat equity have gone in
and removed rubble and cobblestones, and they have unearthed all
these great old historical artifacts from a time when trains were
the dominant mode of transportation. And it is just really a big
grand old building.
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And because of all the volunteer labor that everybody in the town
has put in, they really have their hopes invested in it. And they
have drawn funding from a whole lot of sources, so they really have
a plan to develop this into community space, economic development
projects, and this could be the key final piece.
Wanted to say something lastly about the Neighborhood 91
equipment fund. Again, this is under Transportation, Housing and
Urban Development, et cetera.
Neighborhood 91 is, as far as I know, the only program like it
in the country. It sits on land owned by Pittsburgh International
Airport, and it intends to become an advanced manufacturing eco-
system where any startup company interested in any phase of ad-
vanced manufacturing, specifically for metals, would be able to
come there and some of the basic infrastructure would already be
in place.
And there are very specific gases that you need in this process.
And then, of course, a 3D printer that actually prints metals is a
pretty novel and expensive thing. And so we are trying to help es-
tablish this ecosystem.
This is the basic model on which economic development has al-
ways worked. It is a particular part of our heritage, obviously, in
Pittsburgh, the Steel City, to be working with metals.
And we think that if we make the right investments today, the
government, foundations, private sector working together, that dec-
ades from now we will have jobs and entire companies in this re-
gion that are making things, the 21st century version of the steel
mills we had at the height of the 20th century.
So those are just a few of our projects. We have submitted all of
them. I thank you very much for your time and attention.
This will mean a lot to the people of western Pennsylvania who
have never really recovered, as a whole community, from the col-
lapse of the steel industry, and this is a great role that our govern-
ment could play to help us get back up on our feet after a difficult
year.
So thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and I yield.
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The CHAIR. Thank you very, very much, and thank you for the
thoughtful testimony.
And I have really been so pleased to listen to Members on both
sides of the aisle today talk about what are the kinds of projects
that are coming directly out of their communities, whether it is
water or whether it provides for law enforcement or childcare, et
cetera.
It really has been gratifying to see the level of communication
people have had with their communities about what those needs
are.
So I thank you very, very much for your testimony this morning.
And with that, if I can recognize Congressman Van Drew from
New Jersey.
You are recognized for 5 minutes, Congressman Van Drew.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. JEFFERSON VAN DREW, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Mr. VAN DREW. Thank you, Chairwoman. It is a pleasure to see
you and the ranking member, I am sure, and I really thank you
for providing the opportunity to testify before the House Committee
on Appropriations.
Over the past weeks I have testified before many Appropriations
subcommittees to advocate for projects of great importance to my
district. I hope that the committee considers each of these projects
and provides as much funding as the committee is able to do.
These community projects are worthwhile investments that not
only benefit the whole community, but will strengthen the United
States as a whole.
Today I am here to speak about a special project, much larger
in scope and of great national importance. I respectfully request
that the committee provide $55 million to the United States Coast
Guard to initiate Phase One of the Training Center Cape May Bar-
racks Recapitalization Project through the Construction and Im-
provements Accounts.
This project is included—and this is important—this project is
included in the Coast Guard’s fiscal year 2020 budget request as
the number one project in the Major Shore and Housing category.
Training Center Cape May is the Coast Guard’s sole accession
point for its enlisted workforce. Eighty percent of the Coast Guard’s
total workforce is absorbed through the Training Center in Cape
May in my district.
The existing barracks were constructed in the early 1960s, and
they are in serious need of modernization. The proposed four-phase
project will reconstruct the entire barracks infrastructure and truly
provide phenomenal benefits for the Coast Guard.
The request, $55 million, is to execute the first phase of the
project, which will demolish the oldest barracks in the facility and
construct a brand-new 66,000 square foot barracks.
Three benefits to the project.
The project will expand the Training Center’s throughput by 15
to 20 percent, which means that 15 to 20 percent more recruits will
go through.
The project will modernize classrooms with digital infrastructure,
which is very much needed.
The project will allow the Coast Guard to achieve its objective—
and this is important too—this project will allow the Coast Guard
to achieve its objective of 50–50 gender parity.
The U.S. Coast Guard is expanding operations across the country
and across the world. Whether executing freedom of navigation op-
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erations in the South China Sea or conducting research and rescue
operations off the U.S. coast, the Coast Guard has a lot to do and
plans on doing even more in the coming decades.
The United States can build all the cutters in the world—and
they are important—but you need personnel to operate those ves-
sels.
Most of the personnel come through the Training Center in Cape
May. The proposed barracks recapitalization will increase the
Training Center’s throughput by 15 to 20 percent or up to an addi-
tional thousand servicemembers each year.
This investment ensures the Coast Guard has the workforce it
needs to accomplish its mission at home and abroad.
The newly constructed barracks will include classrooms equipped
with the digital infrastructure necessary. We need not only more
Coasties, we need them to be as prepared as possible to execute the
Coast Guard mission.
A major objective of the Coast Guard is to achieve 50–50 gender
parity in the Coast Guard—50 percent men, 50 percent women. As
it stands, the Training Center is only able to accommodate about
30 percent female recruits.
Again, over 80 percent of the Coast Guard’s enlisted workforce
entered, they all enter through the Training Center. To meet the
Coast Guard’s objective of 50–50 gender parity, this project must
be funded.
This project is the Coast Guard’s number one housing infrastruc-
ture priority. It will provide phenomenal benefits to the Coast
Guard and to the United States of America.
I urge you to provide the requested funding so that our Coast
Guard men and women have access to every tool possible to pre-
pare themselves to execute the Coast Guard mission.
Thank you so much for your time.
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The CHAIR. I thank my colleague for your time as well and for
your interest, both on the quality of life in terms of the Coast
Guard and for the workforce itself.
I have a Coast Guard facility in my district, so I know very, very
much about what they do and how they do it. So thank you so
much for your testimony this morning.
And if I can now, let me recognize Representative Buddy Carter
from Georgia.
And you are recognized for 5 minutes. Thank you.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. EARL L. ‘‘BUDDY’’ CARTER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I appre-
ciate this opportunity to share my concerns and priorities for the
First Congressional District of Georgia.
It is an honor to represent a district rich in history and home to
tens of thousands of Active-Duty military personnel and veterans.
I am here today to discuss my appropriations priorities, both de-
fense and nondefense.
As the home of the Atlantic ballistic missile submarine fleet at
Kings Bay, I have seen the dedication of our sailors and their fami-
lies firsthand. The Ohio-class submarines play a critical role in nu-
clear deterrence but will soon be reaching the end of their life
cycle.
With growing threats around the globe, it is important to main-
tain the undersea leg of a nuclear triad. I fully support full funding
for the Columbia-class program to ensure the timely development
and deployment of our nuclear submarine fleet.
Additionally, we are looking at the retirement of the SSGNs,
which currently provide the largest undersea strike capability for
non-nuclear launches. They will soon be replaced, leading to a gap
in our nonnuclear undersea strike capabilities.
The Virginia Payload Module is a cost-effective way to preserve
our capacity and offset the loss of our guided missile submarines.
For that reason, I am submitting language to understand the fu-
ture of the program and basing decisions.
Our soldiers have always been able to depend on the close air
support provided by the A-10s. I was there last week, by the way,
to see the A-10s again. What a great piece of machinery.
Those are operated out of Moody Air Force Base in the First Dis-
trict. The A-10’s capabilities and survivability continue to be show-
cased as these platforms are deployed around the world in support
of our combat troops.
Their role in supporting our ground forces and servicing search
and rescue operations cannot be overstated. I am requesting full
funding for the A-10 platform and any upgrades.
Lastly, the STARBASE program and the National Guard’s Youth
Challenge Program have helped to better the lives of thousands of
kids across the country. These programs help our youth pursue
new opportunities in their lives and help them get their lives back
on track.
For that reason, I support robust funding to ensure these pro-
grams continue to benefit future generations.
For nondefense, I have a number of priorities.
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Under the Energy and Water Committee continued funding for
the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is a top issue for me. Once
completed, it will provide over $200 million in additional economic
benefits for the region and the country.
As one of the most significant Corps of Engineers projects under-
way in the United States, it is critically important this project is
funded to completion.
Under the Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee, I
have several priorities. Funding for Children’s Hospital Graduate
Medical Education, the National Institutes of Health, and several
research programs are included in my submission.
In addition to these, requests for the CDC, ASPR’s BARDA pro-
grams, and the Strategic National Stockpile are also included.
There are a number of significant critical programs that fall under
the subcommittee’s jurisdiction and I urge your support for their
inclusion.
Finally, military construction and veterans projects are signifi-
cant priorities within my district. That is why I have submitted
several requests for military construction and mental health pro-
grams.
With the recent release of the unfunded requirements list, I have
included several requests addressing impacted installations in the
First Congressional District of Georgia. Our installations need the
funding to meet the goals and objectives associated with our
warfighters.
Additionally, we must take care of those who have served our
Nation in our military.
Madam Chair, I appreciate your attention to these requests, and
I thank you for the opportunity to provide input and thank the
committee for their diligent work on all of these important subjects
that we are discussing here today.
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The CHAIR. Thank you for your testimony, Congressman Carter,
and thank you. I will reiterate the real thoughtful process of Mem-
bers on both sides of the aisle in making their requests on Commu-
nity Projects Funding, which addresses the very specific needs of
communities as well as national security issues, as well as what
you are interested in, in your Children’s Hospital and so forth.
So it is rewarding to think that we can be able to look at these
and see if we can provide some help and support on these very crit-
ical issues for your community.
Thank you very much.
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Thank you.
The CHAIR. Thank you.
Let me recognize now Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia from Texas.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. SYLVIA R. GARCIA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF TEXAS
Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you
to you and all your subcommittee chairs for having us today to talk
directly to you about our 2022 packet.
As you know, I am Sylvia Garcia. I just want to make sure every-
body understands that I represent more than Houston. I know I am
known as the Congresswoman from Houston, but I also represent
South Houston, Pasadena, Jacinto City, and Galena Park.
My district is about 78 percent Latino and includes about 22 per-
cent low-income households made up of children and seniors.
All about 33 percent of my district is uninsured. That is why I
want to flag and advocate for several of the projects that we have
submitted which directly improve the quality of life for our con-
stituents.
I submitted ten projects across the Labor, HHS, Education Sub-
committee and the Transportation, HUD Subcommittee, but for the
sake of time I am only going to highlight a few.
One is for a COVID long-haul research project offered by the
prominent institution Baylor College of Medicine. This important
program will benefit my community by providing healthcare access
and COVID research across a diverse patient population, including
low-income and minority populations.
Madam Chairwoman, you know how difficult it is sometimes to
get the data, and we have got to make sure that the data comes
from across the sector, not just those few that can show up to the
institutions to do some of this research. So this project would look
at the long-haulers to see the long-term effects of COVID.
So we have seen the impact of healthcare inequality during this
pandemic, and this is an important time to correct some of these
injustices.
Also related to healthcare is a request for flood mitigation, struc-
tural improvements to El Centro de Corazon, which is an FQHC
clinic in my district.
As you can imagine, flooding and heavy rainfall are a huge prob-
lem here in Houston. It is important that this FQHC clinic get the
proper structural updates to keep water out and keep their doors
open to patients in the community during a disaster.
I also requested funds for a local partnership which provides
physical and mental health services for the youth in one of my local
high schools. The project would be a partnership between Mac-
Arthur High School, a part of the Aldine Independent School Dis-
trict, and the HOPE Clinic, also an FQHC.
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This mental health clinic will be available to eligible adults as
well in a community that faces inequity in healthcare resources.
And as you know, Madam Chair, we have all tried to do more
in the mental health arena. This is a great partnership that is al-
ready there. This FQHC just needs some extra dollars to be able
to do the outreach and work that they need to do at this high
school.
I also want to quickly note a couple of requests from some of my
smaller cities. The following requests were sent to the Transpor-
tation and HUD Subcommittee.
Jacinto City requested funds to improve the city’s water supply
lines. This will help the local fire department deliver stronger,
more reliable water supply should a fire emergency arise.
I made a similar request on behalf of the city of Galena Park.
Galena Park seeks assistance to improve their potable water lines
in particular.
The availability of potable water became a huge issue after the
winter storm that hit us earlier this year. The storm busted pipes
and water lines across the State, including Galena Park, causing
major disruptions in water accessibility for households and cities
alike.
Access to drinking water is, as you know, Madam Chair, a basic
human right, and this request will ensure that for my constituents.
From healthcare to COVID recovery to mental health and infra-
structure, granting these requests would go a long way to help
some of my local communities, especially those small cities outside
of the city of Houston who struggle the most. They have smaller
budgets, they don’t quite have the resources.
And all of these cities, Madam Chair, they are probably at about
75 to 80 percent Latino, very Spanish-speaking, and have the least
access.
So I strongly urge consideration. I do want to thank you for your
time and thank you for putting this community projects initiative
on the table.
I think this is a great way for Members to bring home the bacon,
if you will, because that is really what we should be doing, is re-
flecting the needs of our communities and reflecting the priorities
in the fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill.
So I would be happy to answer any questions or if you need any
detail and any of the others. We have given everything to your
staff.
But with that, Madam Chair, thank you again, and I yield back.
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172
The CHAIR. Thank you very, very much for the testimony. And
I think you make a very, very good point that the small cities, often
cities that have not had the opportunity for resources in the past,
and it is really critical. And, really, one of the prime movers in the
community projects funding was to be able to reach out beyond
larger cities, but your issues and the long haulers, I think we know
not where that will go. The research will help us. I also think that
we don’t know what is going to occur with the consequences of
COVID and mental health. We don’t know that yet. We just know
that they will be substantial. And it is critical with regard to insur-
ance for folks. And, as well, the public health issues that surround
water are a national issue and not just in one location in the coun-
try. So thank you for your testimony. Much, much appreciated. And
thank you for providing the staff with the information.
Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Thank you.
The CHAIR. And, with that, let me recognize Congressman Tom
Suozzi from New York. Thank you.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. THOMAS R. SUOZZI, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Mr. SUOZZI. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and thanks to all
the members of the committee. You must have a marathon day,
and I really appreciate you taking this opportunity to spend this
time with us.
I am happy to testify in favor of three capital improvement
projects, one of which is a normal programmatic request, I guess,
and the other two are community funded projects. First, $70 mil-
lion for the United States Merchant Marine Academy; second, $4
million for the Northwell Health Geriatric Center of Excellence;
and, third, $300,000 for shellfish seeding on the North Shore of
Long Island.
First, I serve as chairman—or the acting chairman—of the Board
of Visitors of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, which
is located in my district in Kings Point, Long Island, and I am
seeking $70 million for the academy’s really long ignored and woe-
fully inadequate infrastructure. It is really an embarrassment. Ev-
eryone agrees that the Merchant Marine Academy, one of our five
service academies which trains our Nation’s mariners and is vital
to our Nation’s defense, has embarrassingly bad facilities. The new
head of MARAD, Acting Administrator Lucinda Lessley, who I re-
cently met with, the Department of Transportation, the National
Academy of Public Administration, the Parents and Alumni Asso-
ciation, and the academy leadership itself all agree that the facili-
ties, many of which are 80 years old, are decaying. And its build-
ings, its electric grid, its information technology system, or lack
thereof, are thwarting the institution’s recruiting capabilities and
its mission to properly train the next generation of our Nation’s
mariners.
Compared to the other service academies, the Merchant Marine
Academy’s infrastructure is woefully subpar. Decades of inequity
and, probably more important, bureaucracy have left the United
States Merchant Marine Academy as an orphan. And I would like
to submit for the record an 8-year infrastructure plan created by
a group of experts and alumni who are so concerned—these are
parents and alumni—so concerned about the academy’s declining
infrastructure that they formed the United States Merchant Ma-
rine Academy Maritime Security Infrastructure Council, and they
prepared this report.
The academy and the Board of Visitors are committed to restor-
ing the United States Merchant Marine Academy to its proper
place in the pantheon of service academies. However, the academy
cannot wait to get started without your help. That is why I have
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specifically and respectfully requested an initial investment of $70
million in infrastructure funding, $25 million which I hope will be
used for design and engineering costs and $45 million which I hope
will be used for shovel-ready projects. The Midshipmen Activity
Center is the focus. The academy really needs this money to move
forward to the 21st century.
Second, I respectfully request $4 million for the Northwell
Health Geriatric Center of Excellence, my highest priority for a
community funding project. Our goal is to create a national model
for senior citizen healthcare. Growing up, all four of my grand-
parents lived at my home. Three of them were very sick. My mom
was an operating nurse, helped to take care—we all helped take
care of them, quite frankly. And over the past few years, my mom
and dad have passed away. They were 95 and 93.
As the committee is well aware, there is a storm coming in our
country: 10,000 Americans are turning 65 every day, and the num-
ber of Americans over 65 will almost double in the next 25 years.
Our current health system does not properly account for the grow-
ing number of seniors and their special needs in dealing with the
complexity of our healthcare system. That is why it is so important
to standardize and implement best practices for eldercare. The
Northwell Health Geriatric Center for Excellence located at Glen
Cove Hospital will serve as a hub of education and research as well
as advocacy for older adults that I think can be modeled through-
out the Nation. I am excited about this project, not just because of
the benefit it will provide to my constituents but because it could
be replicated throughout the country and become a model for geri-
atric centers throughout the Nation.
Third and finally, as you know, Madam Chairwoman, I serve as
co-chair of the Long Island Sound Caucus, and I am seeking
$300,000 for my community funding project to seed the North
Shore of Long Island with shellfish, oysters, and clams. This
project will help restore shellfish populations and, as importantly,
reduce nitrogen, bacteria, and harmful algae blooms in our bays
and harbors. Unsewered homes, businesses, storm water runoff in-
creases nitrogen loading and the potential for algae growth. When
these algae blooms die off, their decomposition uses up oxygen in
the water, causing hypoxia and threatening many species.
Fortunately, with a large enough population, shellfish are able to
help control this excess nitrogen as they are filter feeders. A single
adult oyster can filter 50 gallons of sea water every day. This
project aims to restore and enhance our valuable waterways under
threat due to nitrogen runoff by seeding our harbors with shellfish.
Water quality is critical to our local economies. I see that I am
running out of time, so I will just give it up and just say you know
how important the Long Island Sound is. The Long Island Sound
is our national park for those of us that live in Connecticut and
Long Island and New York, and we want to try and save it. So
thanks so much, everybody. I know you have a long day. I hope
that you found some of my projects interesting.
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177
The CHAIR. More than interesting, and I am so proud to co-chair
the Long Island Sound, you know, Caucus with you and our Repub-
lican colleagues as well. So we are all committed to that and to a
shellfish industry. It has been a lifeblood for the State of Con-
necticut, as I know it is for New York as well. But no. Thank you
very, very much for the projects at law enforcement—not law en-
forcement, but the Merchant Marine Academy, as well as the geri-
atric program. It shows the range of efforts and needs that are in
our communities. So thank you very much this morning for your
testimony—or this afternoon, now. Wow. Thank you.
Mr. SUOZZI. Thank you, Chairwoman.
The CHAIR. OK. You take care.
And now it is my pleasure to introduce Congresswoman Robin
Kelly from Illinois.
And you are recognized for 5 minutes, Congresswoman Kelly.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. ROBIN L. KELLY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you, Chairwoman DeLauro and
Ranking Member Granger, for allowing members to share their ap-
propriations priorities. As you know, I represent Illinois’ Second
Congressional District, which consists of urban, suburban, and
rural communities. We often think of gun violence as an urban or
city issue, but this issue affects people in all communities. Accord-
ing to the Gun Violence Archive, over 19,000 people have died from
gun violence this year, 258 from mass shootings. Just this year, 10
people were killed at a supermarket in Colorado, 9 killed at a San
Jose rail yard 2 weeks ago, and 4 injured by gun violence during
a softball tournament in San Angelo, Texas.
The Chicagoland area is also experiencing a surge in gun vio-
lence. In Chicago, 60 people were shot this past weekend, including
an 11-year-old girl. Though we are hardly halfway through the
year, nearly 1,500 people have been shot in Chicago so far, putting
us on track to have another tragic record year of gun violence.
We are battling a public health epidemic, but we are not treating
it that way. Gun violence disproportionately affects people of color
and is now one of the leading causes of death of children and teen-
agers. We must fight. We must address this far-reaching health
risk of gun violence and the systemic racism that normalizes the
death of young Black men and women. Each life lost to gun vio-
lence is tragic and unfortunate. Deaths are not the only impact, but
every shooting, countless people are traumatized, left to grieve a
loved one, angered by the event, and increasingly anxious about
the safety of their communities. The mental health impacts of gun
violence are both a cause and effect of this tragedy. Without ad-
dressing the generations of trauma some communities have experi-
enced, we will not be able to pull ourselves out of this epidemic.
Of course, there are also the physical and financial costs that we
must address. People injured by gun violence often face challenging
and expensive recoveries, including surgeries and physical therapy.
Many live with disabilities for the rest of their lives. For decades,
the biggest threat to the lives and safety of children and teenagers
was automobile accidents. In response, we mandated the use of
seat belts and car seats and created stricter safety guidelines for
automobile manufacturers. Deaths by vehicle crashes declined sig-
nificantly and have remained relatively low.
Today, firearms are the leading cause of death for children and
teenagers with an estimated 1,800 children and teens shot to death
each year. That means 1,800 empty school desks and chairs at fam-
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ily dinner tables. Black children and teenagers are 14 times more
likely to be killed by a gun than White children.
There is no one program or solution to gun violence, but there
are steps we can take now to save lives. Many communities require
increased support for gun violence intervention and prevention pro-
grams, focus on interrupting cycles of violence and facilitating
mentorships to individuals at high risk of engaging in gun violence.
Research shows that sustained funding for evidence-based pro-
grams tailored for specific local contacts and working in partner-
ship with the affected communities can achieve significant and
long-term reductions in firearm violence. That is why I led an ap-
propriations letter with 39 of my colleagues calling for an invest-
ment in community violence intervention programs.
For the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, we re-
quested $100 million for the Office of Justice Programs to develop
a grant program to support community-based violence intervention
programs and report language for prioritizing discretionary grants
for community-based violence intervention programs and directing
the Office of Victims of Crime to make Victims of Crime Act fund-
ing available for gun violence victims service programs.
For the Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services
and Education, we requested $100 million for the CDC to develop
a public health centered grant program to support community-
based programs that prevent violence and $10 million to establish
the Resource Center at HHS to coordinate funding opportunities
across relevant agencies, oversee research into effective programs,
and provide technical assistance to local offices for violence preven-
tion and community-based organizations.
Additionally, we requested report language directing HHS to
support community-based violence intervention programs through
relevant grant programs and language directing the Department of
Labor to prioritize Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Funding
like the Young Adult Reentry Partnership and YouthBuild to sup-
port reintegration, transitional employment, long-term impactful
positions, union positions, and limiting wages for systems involved
with youth and older adults in cities disproportionately impacted
by gun violence.
I know I have run out of time, but you know how I feel about
this topic. And I have been—I am in my ninth year talking about
it, and it is not getting any better. I mean, 60 people shot last
weekend. You know, we have got to do something, Madam Chair.
Thank you for listening.
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The CHAIR. Thank you have very, very much for your testimony,
and I am going to say thank you for your leadership. You have
been—I know it is a long time, and it is a long slog, you know, but
you need to continue on with your leadership in this effort. And I
think you said something very clear, which should be understood,
which is that this is a public health emergency, and that is what
we need to focus on is the public health aspects of this effort. And
I think everyone is—we need to look to what is happening around
our Nation with the increasing of the violence and so forth. So
thank you so much for taking the lead, and thank you for your sup-
port of the gun violence prevention research which we are under-
taking both at the NIH and the CDC, so thank you very, very
much.
Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Thank you, Madam Chair.
The CHAIR. Thanks. Let me recognize Congressman Greg Meeks
from New York.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. GREGORY W. MEEKS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Mr. MEEKS. Good afternoon, and first, let me just thank you,
Chairwoman DeLauro, for all the hard work that you have been
doing on this great Appropriations Committee and holding this
hearing today.
The CHAIR. Thank you.
Mr. MEEKS. And I also want to thank my friend, Barbara Lee,
for being an excellent partner in our new—you know, we both
share new roles now. She is the chair of SFOPS and the sub-
committee, and I am chair of the House Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs, and so I am here in that capacity today. I am not here to ad-
vocate for some of my local programs. But, you know, the COVID–
19 pandemic has taught us that many of the most pressing chal-
lenges facing the world today are global in nature and require a
global response, and so that is why, as chair of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, I firmly believe that Foreign Affairs budget
must reflect that reality. So this means that we must first invest
in our workforce.
So, following years of neglect, it is past time that we commit to
building a strong Civil and Foreign Service that not only rep-
resents this country abroad but reflects our diversity here at home.
And so, thus, I applaud President Biden for more than doubling the
amount of money dedicated to broadening recruitment, diversity,
and inclusion programs at the State Department in his fiscal year
2022 budget requests. We should answer the President’s commit-
ment with our own action.
And I am proud that, last month, the House passed the State De-
partment authorizing legislation that addresses barriers to diver-
sity from the entry level to Senior Executive Service. While this is
an important milestone, we must continue this work by making ro-
bust investments in programs to increase the diversity of our na-
tional security workforce, like the Gilman International Scholar-
ship Program or the Rangel and Pickering Fellowship Programs.
As the United States reengages with the world, multilateral en-
gagement is critical. This starts with fully funding America’s com-
mitments to the United Nations, including paying down our ar-
rears. The U.N. has long served as a force multiplier for the United
States, helping to protect our interests and promote democracy and
peace and stability. And I urge the committee to support the $2.7
billion for the contributions for International Peacekeeping Activi-
ties account.
The United States also has a responsibility to receive and to re-
vive efforts to address those areas in which it has historically
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underinvested to include advancing our economic ties in the con-
tinent of Africa. So I fully support of President’s request for $80
million in support Prosper Africa, an initiative that aims to pro-
mote and facilitate two-way trade and investment with the con-
tinent of Africa. I look forward to working with the administration
to further develop and strengthen these efforts.
I am heartened by President Biden’s commitment to renew U.S.
leadership in Central America through a 4-year, $4 billion infusion
of funds to address the root causes of migration. This represents
a long overdue recognition that we cannot thrive without secure
and stable neighbors. We must also recognize that we cannot
thrive, we cannot do these efforts, and that they depend upon the
stability of the entire region, and we have to redouble our work to
support efforts like the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which
has been critical in helping our Caribbean partners combat violence
and crime.
We must also make investments to strengthen health systems
around the world to ensure we are able to better address future
global health threats. And I hope this committee will robustly sup-
port proven programs, such as the President’s Malaria Initiative,
which improved the lives of millions while helping partner coun-
tries develop more robust help infrastructure. And I encourage you
to increase funding for the PMI to $902.5 million in fiscal year
2022.
I also urge you to make a greater commitment to funding family
planning and reproductive health programs, which are so impor-
tant to ensuring better health outcomes and more equitable devel-
opment around the world. Funding UNFPA, a critical multi-
national partner in supporting maternal and child health, access to
comprehensive healthcare, and combating child marriage is crucial
to this approach.
And, finally, last month, I unveiled the Ensuring America Global
Leadership and Engagement Act, or we call it the EAGLE Act.
This bill will reinvigorate our institutions and diplomatic efforts to
effectively respond to the China challenge. I hope to work hand in
hand with you as we move forward with the EAGLE Act and the
appropriations process and other legislation to ensure that America
can rise to meet the challenge of leading and reengaging the world.
Thank you so very much. I know I am out of time.
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The CHAIR. Thank you. Thank you very, very much for your tes-
timony, and thank you for your leadership in making sure that the
U.S. is reengaging and taking its role as a leader in the world. And
you mentioned several other, you know, issues that have to do with
peacekeeping. I think we have much to do in the area of global
health. It is really a space, I think, where we can take leadership,
particularly now with regard to this pandemic and making sure
that other countries have access to the vaccines. And so that we
can make sure that—it is a humanitarian issue, but it is our own
national security as well. So, again, thank you for taking the lead
and making sure that the U.S. is a leader in the world community
as we go forward. So thank you for your testimony.
Mr. MEEKS. Thank you, Chair.
The CHAIR. And, with that, let me recognize Congressman
Kahele from Hawaii.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. KAIALI’I KAHELE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF HAWAII
Mr. KAHELE. Aloha, Chairman DeLauro and members of the
committee. Thank you so much for allowing me this opportunity to
speak on behalf of Hawaii’s Second Congressional District, and spe-
cifically, the community funded project requests that I have sub-
mitted.
Chair, Hawaii’s Second Congressional District, which contains all
eight of the main Hawaiian islands from Hilo to Hanalei, is a
unique district in that the communities that I represent live in the
most isolated population center in America. These communities are
rural. They are underserved and need additional support from the
Federal Government to address the lack of upward mobility and
the persistent gap in unemployment rates and poverty rates be-
tween urban and rural communities.
My family comes from the last native Hawaiian fishing village in
Hawaii called Miloli’i, and I understand firsthand how rural com-
munities often struggle to access Federal resources. Small towns
and rural communities across the United States are looking for
ways to strengthen their local economies, to provide a better qual-
ity of life and increase access to opportunities for their children,
and they need assistance from the Federal Government to leverage
these resources. And this is why I have focused my community
funded projects and programs that will increase economic invest-
ment and educational opportunity while still preserving the rural
landscape.
Rural communities have been hit hard by changing economic
trends, and we must ensure that rural communities have the re-
sources and support they need to create a new future for them-
selves so that they can produce high-quality sustainable jobs for
the future. In Hawaii and across the country, too many Native and
local families are forced to move to urban centers due to high cost
of living and low job opportunities in their hometowns. And so we
need to invest in programs and institutions that will continue to
build and provide for future generations.
My community funded projects are focused on areas of high need.
These include access to educational opportunities for our keiki, our
children, diversifying our economy through agriculture and pro-
tecting our environment. The funding of these projects would be a
step in the right direction for building resilient rural communities
that can invest in people.
The projects I have chosen not only benefit rural communities
but are also led by local community leaders. With additional fund-
ing, we can empower these local organizations by leveraging their
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existing assets and knowledge to promote home grown opportuni-
ties. For example, one of the areas I represent, Puna, is the fastest
growing area in Hawaii, yet lacks the critical community resources
like a community center in their district. Puna has the second
highest poverty rate in the State. Nearly half its residents live at
or below 130 percent of the poverty rate. This region was most
heavily impacted by the Kilauea lava flow of 2018, which greatly
affected this once thriving agriculture industry, creating losses of
$30 million throughout the tropical fresh cut flowers and papaya
industries. Two of my community funded projects would address
the needs to explicitly this rural area by establishing a Boys and
Girls Club, which would serve as a community center, and pro-
viding funding to rebuild the local agricultural community. The es-
tablishment of a Boys and Girls Club would provide many families
with basic necessities such as supplemental nutrition, childcare,
youth development, and disaster relief aid. Most children living in
Puna go unattended after the school day is finished. And, cur-
rently, there is no building facilities that can be accessed and uti-
lized to host out-of-school kids with programming and childcare
services. The dearth of childcare access in rural communities cre-
ates a unique challenge for rural working parents, which, in turn,
eliminates job opportunities for those parents. We need to invest in
rural community infrastructure to assist these communities to re-
cover and thrive.
Fortifying community-based organizations in distressed commu-
nities can help to build inclusive, vibrant communities. Community
centers are critical, multifaceted establishments that can provide
skills and training and further perpetuate cultural practices.
And, Chair, being a proud native Hawaiian, I know how impor-
tant it is to pass along our traditions and cultural values from gen-
eration to generation, and this is why I have also included funding
for the Miloli’i Community Enrichment and Historical Center, a
convenient space for the entire community, the Village of Miloli’i
can have a gathering place for public meetings, culture activities,
and recreational programs.
Finally, economic inequality between urban and rural areas has
been increasing rapidly during the COVID–19 pandemic. However,
while rural communities face unique challenges, they also have dis-
tinctive assets that with the help of government infrastructure,
they will be able to build capacity and thrive. The Nature Conser-
vancy, MA’O Organic Farms, the Council for Native Hawaiian Ad-
vancement, and, finally, the DLNR’s conservation resource enforce-
ment are all organizations we can work with.
So I thank you for your allowing me to speak today, and I ask
for your support for these critical funding projects for the people of
Hawaii’s Second Congressional District. Mahalo nui, Chair. Aloha
from Hawaii. Thank you, and I yield back.
The CHAIR. Thank you very, very much. I think both Congress-
man Cole and I, you know, want to reciprocate with Mahalo to you
as well. You are just—you are so eloquent. It is really wonderful.
But I just want to say very, very quickly, thank you for your em-
phasis on rural communities, local community leaders. That is the
direction that we need to try to move forward and to serve those
underserved communities like Puna and others that have been
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without the resources to be able to move forward. So thanks so
much for your testimony this morning—this afternoon. I keep for-
getting. It is afternoon.
And, with that, let me recognize Congresswoman McMorris Rod-
gers from Washington State. Congresswoman.
Mrs. RODGERS. Good morning from Washington State.
The CHAIR. I just might add that we had a couple of Washington
State folks early. That means it was 7 o’clock in the morning. So
welcome, welcome.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Well, thanks for fitting me in late
morning here in Spokane, Washington. Chairwoman DeLauro and
Ranking Member Granger, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to
testify before the committee today on some of eastern Washington’s
priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. This year’s community
project funding process has really allowed Congress to bolster Arti-
cle I power of the purse, and I appreciate the commitment to trans-
parency that the committee has brought to this process, and I
think it allows for Congress to do a better job in directing how
hardearned taxpayer dollars are spent, ensuring that the resources
go where the need is the greatest.
Based on the community project funding request that my office
has received, it is clear that many areas in eastern Washington
have major water infrastructure needs. You will see that my com-
munity project submissions include drinking water projects in Air-
way Heights, in the town of Cusick, and wastewater projects in
Stevens County, in the city of College Place, in the town of Malden.
As you have seen by the submission information and the letters of
support, all of these projects would help meet a critical need.
Today, I would like to share more information on the challenges
facing the town of Malden. You may not know, but over Labor Day
last year, the Babb Road fire devastated the towns of Malden and
Pine City in eastern Washington. I visited these towns days after
the fire was still being extinguished, and the devastation took my
breath away. The City Hall, the post office, the fire station were
all gone. Eighty-five homes and surrounding farmland had been de-
stroyed. Miraculously, the community church up on the hill stood
despite the fire damage.
In the days and weeks that followed the fire, the residents of
Malden and Pine City rolled up their sleeves and got to work on
assessing the damage, piecing their lives back together, and focus-
ing on long-term recovery. The level of devastation met the thresh-
old for Federal disaster declaration, but it wasn’t declared until
February 2021, months after these towns had lost nearly every-
thing.
As Malden has worked to rebuild, it has become clear that a
large, onsite sewer system is needed to help advance the recovery
efforts. Many of the residential lots in Malden are small and do not
have the required space for a modern septic system. And much of
the town is built on gravel soils with pine tree vegetation, which
further complicates sewer system installation. A large, onsite sewer
system that serves the whole town is critical for Malden’s recovery.
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It would also protect the nearby Pine Creek and all the aquatic life
living in it and the riparian zone. Pine Creek flows year round. It
is a natural catchment area for winter’s snow and spring run
rainoff, so the upgraded sewer system is critical for protecting the
local environment as well as the tributary waters.
The Malden sewer project has been deemed eligible for EPA
STAG grant funding under section 601(c)(1) of the Clean Water
Act. I believe it is exactly the type of project the STAG grant pro-
gram was designed to support. And as Malden Mayor Dan Har-
wood said in his letter of support for the project, quote: I cannot
stress how important the sewer system is to Malden’s future. It is
essential if the town is to rebuild, grow, and thrive.
Again, I thank you for the opportunity to testify today, I appre-
ciate your consideration on behalf of the important projects I have
submitted on behalf of Best Buddies Eastern Washington, city of
Airway Heights, city of College Place, city of Spokane, Spokane
County, city of Cusick, the Columbia Basin Development League,
Stevens County Public Utility District, and the town of Malden.
And I yield back the remainder of my time.
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The CHAIR. What great advocacy. And it has been really inter-
esting today to listen to the number of—whether they are drinking
water, wastewater projects, sewer systems, it seems it is a crying
need nationwide in these areas. And so many of our colleagues on
both sides of the aisle really are introducing these projects through
the community project funding process. So thank you. Thank you
for your advocacy and participating in this effort. It really is—it
means a lot. So thank you very, very much. Take care.
Mrs. RODGERS. Thank you, Madam Chair.
The CHAIR. I appreciate it, as I know the ranking member does
as well. And, again, I see Congressman Cole there, who is my part-
ner on Labor-H, so thank you very, very much.
And, with that, let me call to testimony Congresswoman Claudia
Tenney from New York.
You are recognized for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. CLAUDIA TENNEY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF NEW YORK
Ms. TENNEY. Well, thank you, Chairman DeLauro and obviously,
Ranking Member Granger, and all the distinguished members of
the House Appropriations Committee for giving Members an oppor-
tunity to show their priorities today. It is really important. I am
honored to represent New York’s 22nd Congressional District,
which stretches from the shores of Lake Ontario in the north down
to the Pennsylvania border in the south, so we have all of central
New York and the center of the State.
This region has a strong history of innovation as the birthplace
of IBM, many don’t know that, and the current location of the Air
Force Research Labs Information Directorate, one of our Nation’s
premier centers of scientific research and development. This is
what I would like to first discuss.
Number one, the Air Force Research Laboratory, known in my
community as Rome Lab, is truly world class. It conducts cutting-
edge research into emerging technologies and the high-tech digital
battle space, which is exactly where we are increasingly con-
fronting our adversaries.
The game-changing technologies that Rome Lab is exploring will
enable our warfighters to counter countries like China and Russia
that are investing heavily in 21st century tools to target our critical
infrastructure and degrade our capabilities.
My request today for Rome Lab includes funding for three vitally
important lines of effort. The first is support for a quantum net-
work computing testbed. It is a national security imperative that
we lead in the development of quantum computing technologies, es-
pecially given the advances that continue to be made by many ad-
versaries like China.
The second is to support the first and only government-owned
UAS traffic management system. This investment would be a revo-
lutionary tool to counter our adversaries’ use of low-cost drones to
target American lives, exploit our air space, and commit acts that
disrupt our economy and homeland security.
And, finally, the third is for an artificial intelligence and machine
learning experimentation and transition test bed. This investment
will provide the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies
with an operationally relevant environment for warfighters to use
and assess the new AI tools, AI agents, and human machine
teaming techniques.
These three investments are relatively small compared to the
size of the total defense budget, but their impact will be tremen-
dous. They will deepen the military’s expertise in the fields that
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matter most in shaping the battle space of the future, such as
quantum computing and artificial intelligence. The fact is, in our
increasingly digital world, greater investments in these priorities
are not only needed and timely, they are absolutely essential. The
men and women Air Force Research Lab Information Directorate
are unsung heroes, and I hope they can count on your support. I
urge this committee to fully support these requests.
The second that I have, I would like to highlight today is for in-
creased funding in the amount of $4.3 million for the Civil Air Pa-
trol. I led a bipartisan effort this year with my colleague, Mike
Thompson, to support this request. We now have more than 80
Members of Congress joining us, and this is more than ever before
in the previous year. Many people do not know that the Civil Air
Patrol plays an integral role in supporting critical defense training
and homeland security operations across the country. It is both an
Air Force auxiliary and a nonprofit that serves thousands of com-
munities in every one of our States. They were particularly impor-
tant during the pandemic. It also maintains a youth cadet program
focused on cultivating the next generation of leaders. This week-
end, I had the honor of participating in the Civil Air Patrol train-
ing session with young cadets and auxiliary members. I can person-
ally attest to the Civil Air Patrol’s professionalism, world class
training, and commitment to serving our communities. Increased
funding for the organizations will allow the program to further ex-
pand its role as the auxiliary and total force partner of the Air
Force. It also will allow it to increase its support for States and
communities. This is an example of all kind of smart, prudent Fed-
eral spending that benefits all of us.
Finally, just one more time, I would like to reiterate my support
for each of the community funding projects I supported this cycle.
While I have had an opportunity to testify before several of the
subcommittees in support of these projects, I wanted to specifically
focus on the water infrastructure projects I submitted. This in-
cludes submissions for the Village of Marathon River Crossing,
Eastern Mohawk Valley Regional Transmission Main, Vernon
Water Center District, and the Village of Frankfort Water System.
Some of these areas in my community are suffering from contami-
nation of their water sources while others have just such old infra-
structure that the lifecycle is at a critical risk of failure. Without
important Federal investments, these communities risk eventually
losing access to a dependable supply of clean drinking water.
Transparency and accountability were two critical factors that
drove my support of these water projects. I am committed to ensur-
ing any Federal funding brought back to our community is spent
responsibly. As with any Federal program, community projects
funds must adhere to the highest standards, and I will hold our
community beneficiaries accountable. And I thank the chair, the
chairwoman, and also our ranker for allowing these community
projects, and I reiterate the great comments of my colleagues,
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, on bringing Article I powers back to the
House and our power of the purse. So I really greatly appreciate
your consideration of all of these requests, and thank you again for
the opportunity to testify today. I really am grateful. Thanks so
much.
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[The information follows:]
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The CHAIR. Thank you very, very much, and thanks for taking
a lead on defense issues and natural security as it relates to tech-
nology and the research laboratory. They certainly distinguish
themselves all of the time in the cutting-edge research that they
do do, and I think critically now with regard to your word, our ad-
versaries in this area.
And, again, I think overall, just listening to folks this morning
is the whole issue of the water quality, water projects, et cetera,
and what a national imperative that is. So I thank you very, very
much for your testimony today.
Ms. TENNEY. Thank you.
The CHAIR. Thank you. Thank you.
And, with that, let me recognize Congresswoman Mary Gay
Scanlon from Pennsylvania.
You are recognized for 5 minutes. Thank you.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. MARY GAY SCANLON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
Ms. SCANLON. Madam Chair, thank you for allowing me to testify
today. I am going to follow our colleague from Hawaii’s example.
I guess I should start by saying ″yo″ from Philadelphia.
I do want to briefly discuss some of the ways we hope the appro-
priations bills can help the people I am proud to represent in Penn-
sylvania’s Fifth District, which includes Delaware County and im-
portant parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties and how
those things can also help all of our constituents. As someone who
has worked with legal services and high quality pro bono programs
for decades, I have seen firsthand the impact that access to legal
assistance can have for our most vulnerable constituents and
neighbors, but we don’t have to rely upon my anecdotal evidence.
In recent years, we have seen a growing number of studies dem-
onstrating that investment in legal services provides a robust re-
turn on investment. For example, when we fund lawyers to defend
tenants in eviction matters, which are often wrongful, the return
is 11 to 1. So as co-chair of the House Access to Legal Aid Caucus,
I am proud to work with leaders like Congressmen Cohen and
Fitzpatrick to advocate for robust funding of legal services appro-
priations and other legal services efforts.
The reality is that many of our most ambitious government pro-
grams are inaccessible to everyday Americans without the assist-
ance of legal professionals to provide support. While our legal and
benefit systems have grown increasingly complex, we continue to
fund or, rather, underfund legal services at 1970s levels. The pro-
grams funded by the Appropriations Committee are more effective
and efficient when they include legal aid as a key component to as-
sist vulnerable individuals in accessing resources. Initiatives aimed
at increasing opportunities for education, employment, healthcare,
public service, public safety, and veterans services, preventing
homelessness, and protecting civil rights are critical, but they can
have complicated administrative hurdles, so legal aid professionals
can help people navigate the complex applications, appeal deci-
sions, and ensure that individuals receive the maximum benefits to
which they are entitled under our laws.
Providing representation also makes our courts more efficient as
it streamlines and focuses the issues brought to court. Accordingly,
I respectfully urge this committee to ensure robust funding for the
Legal Services Corporation and other legal aid programs that pro-
tect our most vulnerable constituents.
I also urge the committee to provide funding for programs that
are both critical to our Nation’s infrastructure and create good-pay-
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ing union jobs. In my district, we have a manufacturing center
with highly skilled employees who work on the vital CH-47F Block
II program which will provide critical upgrades to the Army’s fleet
of Chinook helicopters. These are the Army’s primary heavy-lift
helicopters, and the Block II upgrades will deliver advanced heavy-
lift capabilities now and for decades to come. I hope the defense ap-
propriations bill will reflect how critical this program is to our na-
tional security.
We have also been proud to revitalize the historic Philadelphia
Shipyard with a billion dollar investment from the U.S. Maritime
Administration, which contracted with the Philadelphia Shipyard
to build new training vessels as part of the national security multi-
mission vessel program. This important program helps to sustain
world-class U.S. maritime training operations at the State mari-
time academies by equipping young American mariners with the
most modern and adaptable training platforms. It will also support
almost 2,000 good-paying jobs for the Philadelphia region.
We also urge you to increase funding for SNAP, WIC, and sum-
mer child feeding programs, especially those programs directed at
the highest need areas. In Philadelphia, the poorest large city in
the country, we have an epidemic of hunger, particularly for chil-
dren. It is estimated at least 21 percent of Philadelphia residents
do not have enough food to lead a healthy life. It is a national cri-
sis, but it is a preventable one. SNAP and WIC have shown that
when fully funded, they can dramatically reduce hunger in Amer-
ica. The pandemic has exposed gaps in those programs. Expanding
them will allow my constituents and all of our constituents, indeed,
to access food and have the ability to grow.
And, finally, we thank you for consideration of the community
project funding requests. Simply the process of selecting them was
very helpful to my office. The projects—we had over 60 projects
apply. They were all excellent, strongly vetted, great community
support. They addressed a range of social, equity, and economic
issues, and we are really excited to continue working with the gov-
ernment and nonprofit agencies that submitted those projects,
whether they are funded through the appropriations process or not.
I am not going to rehash them all, but we are very, very excited
for this opportunity and very excited about all the recommenda-
tions that we submitted.
So thank you for the chance to be here today and talk with you
about my region’s priorities. And, as always, my staff and I are
available for followup questions.
[The information follows:]
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The CHAIR. Thank you very, very much, and I just wanted to
make a comment. First of all, thank you for your comments on the
community projects funding process, which, as I heard from both
sides of the aisle, that the engagement of Members and their com-
munities and, you know, the support from communities has really
been really very, very gratifying.
Your emphasis on legal services. I want to just make a quick
comment that helping people to navigate the system, protecting the
most vulnerable people, the most vulnerable is really, really laud-
able. And, finally, the United States—I said this earlier to Jim
McGovern. This is a Nation of great abundance in terms of food,
and no one, no one in this country, should go to bed hungry at
night. So thank you very, very much for your testimony. I appre-
ciate it very much. Thank you.
And, with that, I am going to give Dr. Ruiz really, if you will,
the final words. Dr. Ruiz, Congressman Ruiz from California, is the
last Member. We have had 35 Members testify today. And I believe
everyone has shown up, so I really feel very gratified in terms of
this Member Day.
So, Dr. Ruiz, the floor is yours. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2021.
WITNESS
HON. RAUL RUIZ, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Mr. RUIZ. Thank you, Chair DeLauro. Thank you for the oppor-
tunity to testify before the House Appropriations Committee on
Members Day. I am here as the chairman of the Congressional His-
panic Caucus to discuss critical matters of importance to the His-
panic communities, such as reducing health disparities, supporting
families and children, protecting the health, safety, and welfare of
workers, and improving our immigration system.
We are working closely with our CHC appropriators, Representa-
tives Lucille Roybal-Allard, Henry Cuellar, Pete Aguilar, Norma
Torres, and Adriano Espaillat to advance our caucus’ priorities. We
follow a strong methodology in collaboration with CHC members,
Appropriations Subcommittee staff, and many stakeholders, such
as UnidosUS, the National Association of Latino Elected and Ap-
pointed Officials, and the National Immigration Law Center,
amongst others.
While we compiled several priorities under each subcommittee,
many of which have a CHC member sponsor, today I am here to
address specific priorities that the CHC supports as a collective. To
the Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Edu-
cation, and Related Agencies, the caucus asks for the Department
of Labor’s Wage and Hours Divisions to be funded at $298 million
to help safeguard the health and welfare of workers, including mi-
grant and seasonal agricultural workers. The Advisory Committee
on Minority Health account to include report language addressing
the physician shortage crisis, which is especially pronounced in un-
derserved communities. The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention account to include report language to conduct vaccine out-
reach with community health workers, like Norma Torres, and
have coronavirus vaccines available in immigrant detention facili-
ties across the Nation. And, lastly, the Office of Refugee Resettle-
ment account to include report language to create a humanitarian
civilian response team of medical providers and childcare profes-
sionals that can be deployed to help with high surges of unaccom-
panied children.
To the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, the caucus asks for
the House of Representatives Office of Diversity and Inclusion to
be funded at $3 million and include report language to allow DACA
holders to receive payment for work in Congress.
To the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food
and Drug Administration, and related agencies, the caucus asks for
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to be funded at
$6.6 billion.
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To the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related
Agencies, the caucus asks for the Emergency Benefit Broadband
Program to be funded at $24 billion, the pro bono legal representa-
tion during removal proceeding program to be funded at $200 mil-
lion, the Office of Legal Access programs under the Office of Policy
to be funded at $50 million, and the Hispanic Serving Institutions
Undergraduate Program under the National Science Foundation to
be funded at $55 million.
For the Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and
Urban Development and related agencies, the caucus asks for the
Public and Indian Housing account to include report language to
encourage the Department of Housing and Urban Development to
improve the administration of aid for natural disaster relief efforts
in Puerto Rico.
To the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, the caucus asks for
the U.S. Immigration Custom Enforcement account to include re-
port language to authorize a spectrum of alternatives to detention.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection account to include report
language to establish standards of health, nutrition, shelter, water,
and hygiene for immigrants detained in CBP custody and the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services account to include report
language to restrict funds that may be used to administer an immi-
gration and naturalization benefits program that eliminates any
category of eligibility for fee waivers.
We sincerely appreciate your consideration to these important
caucus priorities. While we submitted more requests, we will in-
clude them in the statement for the record, given the time con-
straints.
I appreciate you, and I thank you for this consideration.
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The CHAIR. Thank you very, very much for your testimony. And
I know that it is from the Hispanic Caucus, but also your own per-
sonal values and views on these issues and the emphasis that you
place on what is happening with the vaccines and the outreach
there and what is happening at the border and also looking at
where we go with the Department of Labor. So I thank you very,
very much for all of these areas, and I know we will take a look
at—and so many of these are part of the overall appropriations
process as well. So thank you very, very much for your leadership
and the values that that leadership represents. So thank you very,
very much.
Mr. RUIZ. Thank you.
The CHAIR. And I will just say, you are a trooper. You are the
last Member on the list for testimony, but you know, it was won-
derful to hear from you, so many, many, many thanks.
I will take this opportunity to say thank you to all of my col-
leagues today who have participated, and I want to ask if Con-
gressman Cole has any comments that he wants to make. It has
been very, very informative to hear all of the interest. And what
is quite extraordinary is, if anybody has had the opportunity to lis-
ten, as we have today, is that there are so many of the same issues
on both sides of the aisle and that we share in trying to move for-
ward.
So I want to just say thank you again to all of my colleagues and
ask Congressman Cole if he would like to say a few words in clos-
ing.
Mr. COLE. Just very quickly, Madam Chair. First of all, you are
the trooper. Thank you for putting this on and being with us for
so much of the hearing. And I really want to thank all the Mem-
bers that showed up on both sides of the aisle. I thought we had
an extraordinary range of impressive requests, both programmatic
and individual and specific, you know, some of them district-ori-
ented. But I hope the people that are critical of community invest-
ments listened and really saw the merit of the various proposals
that were put in front of us. We know we can’t fund every worthy
idea that we see, but these are worthy ideas.
I mean, I listened for quite some time. I missed the initial part
of the meeting, but I certainly didn’t hear anything that I would
be embarrassed to have my name associated with. And I think the
Members that brought these requests, they do so at some risk be-
cause people are critical of the process. But I think it is a reminder
of how important this process is. We are all sent here to advocate
for our constituents. We are all sent here to advocate for things
that we think are appropriate Federal expenditures. And I think
seeing the range of them instead of hearing, you know, cheap shots
and terms, just to listen to project after project after project and
the obvious intensity of the advocates and their knowledge. I mean,
who is really against spending more money on our maritime acad-
emy, you know? Who is really against trying to make sure that we
have adequate food protection and things of that nature for all of
our citizens?
So, again, I just thought the range of programs were impressive.
I thank you for doing this, and I thank you for undertaking the
leadership of moving us back toward this. Where I think we did
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surrender power that appropriately belongs with Congress, I am
proud to see Congress reclaiming it, and I am proud that our col-
leagues are presenting us the kind of proposals with the thought-
fulness that will command the respect of people that were worried
about the process.
As you and I know, we are not spending more money here. We
are going to live within whatever our top lines are. What we are
doing is trying to allow Members, who know something on ground
about the needs of their constituents and constituencies, to have an
opportunity to bring that in front of our committee and get the ap-
propriate consideration. That is what they are elected to do. That
is what we are elected to do and appointed to do on this committee.
So I commend you for your effort to bring us back and, frankly,
for putting on display for anybody who is critical of this process to
see how it really works. Members come, make an advocate, submit
appropriate documents. Our staffs go through and work those. Our
members deliberate over them. They are agonizing. Not every
project will be funded, and, frankly, not every worthy project will
be funded. But it is a pretty impressive display of how worthy
these projects are, how much thought has gone into them, and how
serious our committee is about discharging this very important
function in an appropriate way under your leadership.
So thank you very much, and I look forward to working with you
as we continue down the road and look at all of these projects and
try to do the best we can for the American people.
With that, Madam Chair, I yield back.
The CHAIR. Well, thank you very, very much. And, please, a good
recovery here, so just—you know, in Italian, we have the expres-
sion ‘‘piano piano,’’ so slowly, slowly here.
And I also want to take a moment to say another thank you to
Congressman Pete Aguilar for filling in for a good portion of this
as well.
And, once again, I thank everyone for participating, and with
that, this hearing is adjourned. Thank you.
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