Mario Diaz-Balart

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Knight).

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the amendment.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for bringing this up. This is something that I have got to give a lot of credit to the ranking member as well. This is a program that we are very familiar with. I look forward to working with the Member from Michigan on a program that I think a lot of us support, clearly I support, and the ranking member supports. I want to thank him for bringing it up.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance).

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

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, let's first get one thing straight: This is a cut in infrastructure investment, authorized by the FAST Act, which was passed by this body by a vote of 359-65. It is an authorized program in the FAST Act. This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an earmark. This amendment proposes a cut of $474 million from the Federal Railroad Administration State of Good Repair program. This program was created to address the state of good repair backlog in our intercity rail transportation system. That backlog, by itself, is estimated to be at a whopping $38 billion. This program replaces or, frankly, rehabilitates any publicly owned or Amtrak-owned infrastructure and will ensure intercity rail service is safe, reliable, and ready to support economic and population growth. It is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an earmark. It is an authorized program. Now, let me address the funding shift. Again, I respect the gentleman, but I respectfully oppose what the gentleman is proposing. We have already allocated significant resources to the new search program, which I support, consistent, again, with the President's request. We have chosen to allocate funding for other projects, consistent with the wills of Congress of this House with the FAST Act that benefit both commuter and passenger rail and make significant returns on investment for our country, particularly, by the way, for our economy. So we are funding transit infrastructure to get our economy moving, literally. And, as a nation, we have to address our critical infrastructure assets, which is why this was authorized by Congress in the FAST Act--I repeat. This amendment would undermine that effort, so I would respectfully urge a ``no'' vote on the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment. This Essential Air Service program ensures that small and rural communities have access to the national air transportation system. The program is vital to small businesses and farming communities and rural communities and rural entrepreneurs. So the amendment would cut off air service to many rural communities and would put economies of many of our small towns potentially at risk. I thank the gentleman for his passion, but I would urge a ``no'' vote. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chair, this amendment would shut down, as we have heard, all 15 of Amtrak's long-distance routes and all 28 State- supported routes. Now, let me tell you, the gentleman from Alabama is absolutely very consistent, he is sincere about trying to reduce the Federal deficit, and I commend him for that. Now, here is the problem. This amendment results not in savings but in increased costs of $423 million. I want to repeat that. This amendment would have the effect of increasing costs by $423 million. It would stop all revenues associated with the national network immediately, but costs would continue to accrue for years, and in addition, some costs that were paid for from the national network account would now simply be shifted to the Northeast corridor account. So, for instance, assets that are shared by both long distance and Northeast corridor, like stations or tracks, are funded under each account proportionally. These costs that were formerly paid by the national network would still need to be paid. So, again, this amendment actually costs more money. I know that, obviously, is not the intent, because I know the gentleman from Alabama, and I can say that, is absolutely sincere. This is something that we have to realize. This bill is not just arbitrary decisions. We held hearings, and we carefully scrubbed each account to make sure that the reductions that we made were responsible and that they were actually going to result in reductions. So, again, this is not the right way to do it. This would actually increase costs. It is not prudent to eliminate an entire transportation option. By the way, furthermore in this case, as I mentioned before, it would actually cost even more so to do so. So I would respectfully urge a ``no'' vote. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, again, I think we know this issue. I strongly oppose the amendment, and I would urge a ``no'' vote. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, as the designee of Chairman Frelinghuysen, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 500, I move to strike the last word for the purpose of debate.

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

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

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. King).

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 500, as a designee of Chairman Frelinghuysen, I rise to offer en bloc No. 2 as part of the consideration of H.R. 3354. The list of the amendments included in the en bloc is at the desk and has been agreed to by both sides.

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

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. If the gentleman would be all right with that, I would be willing to agree to his amendment. As long as we can move the process quickly, I would agree to the amendment.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chair, let me thank the gentleman for bringing up this amendment. He has worked awfully hard, and I am a huge admirer of his. Here is the problem: in the committee, we have actually gone line by line to identify cuts in salaries and expenses at HUD and DOT, and as a result, most administrative accounts are at or below the 2017 levels. By the way, that is one of the ways that we achieved $1.1 billion in savings, again, below the 2017 budget. When you do it across the board, it could affect safety programs, it could actually have unintended consequences. So while I am grateful for the chairman's hard work, I would urge a ``no'' vote at this time, and I look forward to continuing to work with the gentleman to make sure that his concerns are addressed in this bill and in future bills. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chairman, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky), the ranking member of the Defense Subcommittee.

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Miami Springs resident Colleen Murray for her dedication to bettering our community and receiving Congress's highest honor, the Congressional Award Gold Medal. To receive the Congressional Award Gold Medal, one must demonstrate immense dedication and be willing to sacrifice a great amount of time. All recipients must participate in 400 hours of voluntary community service, 200 hours of personal development, 200 hours of physical activities, and an additional four night mission of their choosing. This is all done within a two year time frame. For Colleen's public service, she chose to highlight her appreciation for classical music and opera. Colleen volunteered at local hospitals and provided music therapy to patients. By utilizing her passion, Colleen not only improved her musical skills but also helped others in our community. Colleen incorporated her love of music for her personal development requirement as well. She dedicated time to improve her harp skills in order to compete in regional and national competitions. Most notably, she performed with the New World Symphony. For her physical fitness requirement, Colleen built up her stamina and ran one mile at a consistent pace despite a persistent knee injury. As Colleen was nearing her goal, she had to complete her four days of exploration. With an interest in history, she visited a variety of sites in Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia, ranging from the Revolutionary War to the Civil Rights era. During the evening, Colleen stayed with local families to fully immerse herself in the experience. With all of the activities Colleen completed, she not only bettered the community, but herself. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to congratulate Colleen Murray on her accomplishment, and I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing her outstanding achievement. It is an honor to know that Florida's 25th District has an individual with such a bright future.