McCollum Statement on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill as amended on the House Floor
Last Congress, I was proud to work with my colleagues to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fix our roads and bridges, reduce emissions, and address historical inequities caused by our nation’s interstate highway system. Now, Republicans are using H.R. 4820 to undo the progress Democrats made. H.R. 4820 includes a drastic cut to transit programs and zeroes out funding for the RAISE and MEGA grants that are essential to rebuilding infrastructure in our communities. Additionally, Republicans have made a drastic 35 percent cut to Amtrak National Network funding. This will devastate Amtrak’s resources, resulting in a cut to train service for the Empire Builder and loss of jobs for Amtrak workers.
This bill fails to address the lack of affordable housing in Minnesota’s Fourth District and across the country. Republicans have made a devastating $1 billion cut to the HOME Investment Partnership Program, the best tool states and localities have to increase the supply of affordable houses for rent and home ownership. As Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I know all too well that a lack of supply in off-base housing has increased competition among military families and driven up housing costs. We see this all over the country. Last Congress, we had to increase the Basic Allowance for Housing to try to offset some of the challenges military families face, but as long as there is a shortage of affordable housing, this is only a band aid and not a permanent solution. The 67 percent cut to the HOME program included in H.R. 4820 will certainly result in less affordable housing options in our communities and drive up the cost of off-base housing for military families and the Department of Defense.
My opposition to the bill is not solely due to the inadequate funding levels. This bill, like all of the Republican appropriations measures, embraces right-wing social policy fights that have no place in the bills that fund our government. H.R. 4820 would explicitly allow discrimination based on same-sex marriages, strips away protections enshrined to all Americans in the Fair Housing Act of 1958, and ties the hands of the Department of Transportation to curb carbon emissions and build climate resilient infrastructure. These provisions must be rejected.
Mr. Speaker, government funding runs out November 17th. Instead of reevaluating their extreme 2024 funding bills and working to find a bipartisan path forward to fund the government beyond next Friday, House Republicans have once again wasted time considering a bill that is too extreme even for their own party. At the time I am writing this, Republicans don’t have the power to pass their own bad bills and H.R. 4820 has been pulled from consideration on the House Floor. H.R. 4820 now joins the Agriculture bill in a purgatory of Republicans own making. I urge my colleagues to work in a bipartisan fashion to cut through this Republican chaos and avoid a government shut down.
Thank you, and I yield back.