Mario Diaz-Balart

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. I want to again thank the gentleman for raising this important issue. I appreciate his dedication to ensuring that his constituents' air noise concerns are adequately addressed by the FAA. Again, I thank the gentleman, and I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment Offered by Ms. Maxine Waters of California

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I think it is important to just kind of always try to lower the decibels as much as we can. This amendment, as both gentlemen have said, does not change current law. It doesn't change current HUD policies. It merely restates current law. I don't, frankly, see a reason to have the amendment. Likewise, I don't see a big reason to oppose the amendment that just, again, restates current law. I ask all sides to try to lower the rhetoric on this issue. This amendment does not change anything. As the ranking member knows, I have been involved in trying to get immigration reform for a long, long time and have worked with a number of Republicans and Democrats. I will tell you that both sides have had opportunities to get it done, and neither side got it done when they had the opportunity to get it done. I am hoping that we will be able to get it done. But this is not the time and place to have that debate. So, again, while I don't see the need for this amendment, I don't see what the issue is of objecting to an amendment that, in essence, does absolutely nothing. I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) for allowing me some of his time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Objection.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 2577, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I very reluctantly, actually, claim time in opposition.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I am wary of considering an amendment on a rule and regulation that is currently pending before the Supreme Court. The sponsor of the amendment is a good man, but I would hope that we would wait for the Court to issue its ruling and then the committee of jurisdiction can properly debate and consider what, if any, legislative action should be taken. For those reasons, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I actually understand and, frankly, listened very intently to the gentleman's concerns, and I actually want to work with him to make sure that nothing is used that is absolutely arbitrarily, or frankly, totally unfair. And so I think the gentleman's concerns are very, very valid. At this time, however, and that is why I say ``very reluctantly'' have to oppose, because, again, at this moment, I am concerned, hearing the other gentleman from Illinois mention the fact that we want to make sure that we don't slow down the hiring of the air traffic controllers. We need to hire another 1,500 new controllers in 2016. So I not only appreciate the gentleman's concerns, but I, in fact, potentially could share a lot of his concerns. But again, reluctantly at this time, because I am concerned about potentially slowing down the hiring of new controllers, I reluctantly have to oppose his amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I want to thank the ranking member, first, for his kind words towards me right now but, more importantly, for his willingness to work with me, to spend the time, the effort. Both he and his staff, the committee staff, have, frankly, worked awfully hard on making sure we do the best job that we can, and I am grateful for that. I just very briefly want to just mention that this bill, this is a bill that prioritizes funding and funds our country's priorities. It is a balanced bill. And very important, Madam Chair, this is a bill, that, yes, it does not raise taxes. Now, I know that a lot of folks have talked about the President's requests and the President's requests. And the President's requests for this area are much higher in many areas than what this bill is funding. But let's remember a couple of things. The President has massive taxes, tax increases in his proposals, number one. And also, that this bill adheres to not only the budget that was passed by Congress, House and Senate, but this bill adheres to the law, the law that was passed by Congress and signed by the President of the United States, the so- called ``sequester'' law. So if we go above and beyond that level, which some people, I guess, don't remember, it is fake. It gets sequestered. So, Madam Chair, again, I thank the ranking member for his hard work. This is a balanced bill. It is a good bill. It is a responsible bill. It pays and funds the priorities of this great country. And I am going to ask for our colleagues to give us a favorable vote on this fine bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, there is a lot of work that goes into this bill and there is a lot of work that goes into the amendments, but I will tell you that the gentleman from Pennsylvania has worked nonstop to find real solutions to deal with making sure that Amtrak is safe and, in particular, that the Northeast Corridor is as viable and as safe as possible. So I just must commend the gentleman for his hard work, for the way that he has just worked this issue day in, day out to get to the point where we are today.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chairwoman, I reserve a point of order on the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, the gentleman's amendment is obviously very well intentioned. However, the amendment, as drafted, is so broad that, for example, a contractor could be excluded for something as minor as failing to display a poster in a break room. Again, it is well intentioned. We have to remember something. We fund a lot of contracts in this bill, everything from phone service to the computer systems that ensure an orderly and efficient air space. Potentially, this amendment could eliminate a number of those transportation-industry-dependent contracts. Nobody wants to allow for lawbreaking; but, because it is so broadly drafted, the unintended consequences, I think, that folks could be caught in this are a lot more than I think many folks understand. Again, though it is a well-intentioned amendment, I would urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I reserve a point of order on the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that, in the engrossment of H.R. 2577, the Clerk be authorized to correct section numbers, punctuation, and cross-references, and to make such other technical and conforming changes as may be necessary to reflect the actions of the House in amending the bill, including the changes now at the desk.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Speaker, this bill that is in front of us funds programs that are the backbone of our economy and the safety net of those who need it. These are issues that we must fund responsibly, adequately, and on time. This bill does precisely just that. It does so after a lengthy, open process. It does so while looking at the individual issues one by one. I know some people like to criticize this Congress. This is not the Congress--this is not the Congress, however--that made ``shovel-ready'' a joke phrase. This is a Congress who wants to act responsibly, and this bill does just that. It makes the most of what we have. It makes the most of what we have in our coffers. It acknowledges that we can't just simply have everything that everybody wants at a time when we do have to pick priorities, when we have to spend responsibly and wisely. This bill in front of us has no tax increases, Madam Speaker. Now, let's be very clear: fostering economic growth has always been a top priority in our appropriations bills, and this one is no different. You see, our businesses and communities rely on safe and efficient roads and rails and waterways and airways to facilitate the billions and billions of dollars of commerce that our economy depends on. So we choose to prioritize transportation infrastructure projects that will help improve our Nation as a whole; that will make traveling across the country easier; and, make no mistake, that will also make traveling across country safer, a safer place to travel. Madam Speaker, from increasing funding for critical agencies like the FAA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to providing the Federal Railroad Administration with the resources it needs for its safety and research programs, this bill does not sacrifice safety in any way at all, in any shape or form. Madam Speaker, the other primary responsibility of this bill is to provide for important housing programs. It ensures that our veterans continue to have access to the VASH program. It takes care of our most vulnerable citizens, such as the elderly and people with disabilities. It does that. Let me just briefly address the specifics of this motion. We have already taken action on the floor to add $9 million to Amtrak for inward-facing cameras to improve the safety of Amtrak's operation, but let me say something else. We have spent literally hundreds of hours on this bill. We have done so in a bipartisan way, in an open way. We held six public hearings with agency and department heads--six public hearings. We considered amendments in committee, and we have spent, as all of you know, 3 days on the floor now and considered about 80 amendments on this bill after 3 days in an open, transparent process. It has been an open and transparent process. We have taken amendments on this floor from both sides of the aisle. So despite, obviously, budgetary constraints, this bill accomplishes all of what it should. We have worked hard at what we had to fund, and we got it done in a smart, purposeful, responsible way, yes. Let me say something else that this Congress is doing. We are making serious progress on our appropriations bills this year. We are moving ahead faster and through an open process faster than we have in many years, getting the necessary work done in a timely and open and responsible fashion. So now we have this motion to recommit. What is the purpose of this motion to recommit? Why wasn't it done as an amendment during the 3 days when we were here? I urge a ``no'' vote, and let's get this good bill passed out of the House. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise and report the bill back to the House with sundry amendments, with the recommendation that the amendments be agreed to and that the bill, as amended, do pass.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Madam Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman. I know the gentleman is very committed and has worked awfully hard. I look forward to working with him on this. Again, I know how passionate he is about this, and I look forward to working with him.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I will have to oppose this amendment. I am actually concerned about the potential unintended consequences of this amendment. We don't know all of the potential impacts of this amendment, from safety to capacity to, frankly, the effect on local economics. We have made in this bill an effort not to legislatively direct specific flight restrictions or flight paths. As you can well imagine, Mr. Chairman, there are a lot of these issues out there, but we have made the decision to not do that. And again, we just don't know all of the potential unintended consequences, so I would respectfully have to urge a ``no'' vote. I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.