Ed Pastor

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, it is interesting in that I believe many months ago the Senate, which no one thought would pass a budget, we persuaded them through our votes here in the House to pass a budget, and the House leadership refused to have a conference to appoint conferees so that we could have had regular order, had done the appropriations bills--and I know the chairman of Appropriations wanted to do that--and today here we are talking about safety when most of the air traffic controllers are already on the job. I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), the distinguished ranking member of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen), the ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I would say to my colleague that we could fund the entire government if my colleague could persuade his leadership to bring H.J. Res. 59 to the floor. We could have a straight up-or-down vote. It would probably pass in a bipartisan manner, and we could stop the shutdown, and people could go back to work. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it's interesting that we've talked about bringing our employees back from the shutdown. We were told by the chairman of the Appropriations Committee that this is very important because here we are dealing with safety, and the reality is that probably the majority of the air traffic controllers and safety personnel, as required by FAA, are working. I can't imagine that the administrator, Mr. Huerta, would put the American public in any kind of danger. Again, if we would have had a budget conference several months ago, we could have done the appropriations process and probably funded the entire government using regular order, but I keep hearing that if this vote were to come to the floor that it would pass in a bipartisan manner. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take H.J. Res. 59 from the table and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Well, Mr. Speaker, next time I bring it up, I will try to clear it since there is such enthusiasm to bring the Federal Government back to work. With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, this reckless and irresponsible shutdown that has been masterminded by a small faction of the House is disruptive for our nation's transportation system and for the programs that support our most vulnerable citizens. The majority has taken to moving bills that will provide piecemeal programs within the federal government. These bills leave out funding for critical transportation and housing programs that are vital to our economy. For example, there are no funds for the Federal Transit Administration's capital investment grant program to build and expand mass transit systems across our nation. This is the program that helps create construction jobs and relieves congestion in our major cities. Operating and capital assistance for Amtrak is discontinued at a time when more than 30 million passengers rely on Amtrak to get to destinations all over the country. And finally, there is no funding to continue the important safety and capital investments for the Metro system that serves millions of Americans in our nation's capital. With regard to safety, there is no funding to put more than 3,100 aviation safety inspectors back on the job. These men and women are sitting at home because they have been furloughed through this shutdown. Likewise, there is no funding for the important vehicle safety oversight functions of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration's program to modernize our nation's aging air traffic control system has come to a grinding halt. The Maritime Security Program gets no relief in this piecemeal approach. This program provides vital support by helping move the cargo that is necessary to support our national defense efforts overseas. The piecemeal approach puts millions of dollars in construction projects at risk and undermines job creation in the construction sector by not including funding to process multifamily housing mortgages. It puts our children at risk of lead poisoning by not funding Lead Abatement Grants. It also weakens economic development in our communities by not including funding for Community Development Block Grants.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, the clean continuing resolution that will end the outrageous Republican shutdown which threatens the recovery of our housing sector, furloughs more than 3,000 aviation safety inspectors, and is reckless to our economy.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Anna Solley for receiving the Latino Advocacy Champion Award at Valle del Sol's 23rd annual Profiles of Success Celebration on September 6, 2013. Valle del Sol takes pride in honoring individuals that take Arizona to new heights with their deeds and service for others. Dr. Anna Solley has accomplished this as a champion for education by empowering others, enabling change, and promoting diversity. Dr. Solley has worked in higher education for thirty-six years and currently serves as President of Phoenix College. She is committed to providing access to higher education to a diverse student population and strengthening educational attainment among Latino students in the Phoenix metro area. One example of Dr. Solley's leadership is through her invaluable work in a partnership between Phoenix College, the City of Phoenix, and the Phoenix Union High School district. This partnership works to engage Latino youth at different points in their education, with the goal of increasing the number of students that earn postsecondary credentials by 20 percent over a six-year period. Born in Nogales, Arizona, Dr. Solley had a big dream for a small- town girl, of making a difference in the lives of others. Throughout her career in higher education, Dr. Solley has exemplified this commitment to serving others by helping thousands of others accomplish their dreams and inspiring students to be significant contributors to their communities. Dr. Anna Solley also currently serves on the National Community College Hispanic Council Board, the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education, the Phoenix Community Alliance Board, and the St. Joseph's Hospital Community Advisory Board. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Dr. Solley for receiving Valle del Sol's Latino Advocacy Champion Award and her continued service to the Phoenix community.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Rafael Chavarria on the upcoming documentary chronicling his culturally impactful life and career as a musician in the State of Arizona. Rafael Chavarria was born in April 1914, in Solomonville, Arizona. For more than 60 years, Rafael Chavarria, affectionately known as ``Chapito'' by all who know him, contributed his style of music to the Hispanic community of Phoenix, Arizona, providing a cultural cohesiveness for Hispanics in Arizona at a time when many establishments openly discriminated against them. Mr. Chavarria's illustrious career started in 1923 at the tender age of nine years old when he began playing with his father's band at weddings. Mr. Chavarria's style of music highlights the influences of Latin music and Mexican culture that he was exposed to when he was growing up in East Los Angeles during the 1930s. Mr. Chavarria's most important contribution to the genre was incorporating aspects of American swing and the jitterbug to the tropical rhythms that were popular in Mexico City during the 1940s and '50s. Thanks to Mr. Chavarria's tireless efforts, genres of music from the waltz, polka, and bolero to the cha-cha, and rumba, among others, became popularized in Arizona. Despite experiencing a childhood full of discrimination and segregation, when the country went to war in World War II, Mr. Chavarria, like many in his generation, served his country. He was drafted as a firefighter for the Army Air Corp in 1943 and served in the South Pacific--eventually earning the Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal for his service. Through his music, Mr. Chavarria became one of most important cultural icons for the State of Arizona, serving as the catalyst that brought together the Arizona Hispanic community--helping to maintain their culture and arts. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Rafael ``Chapito'' Chavarria on his documental debut highlighting his contribution to the vibrant history of the Hispanic community in Arizona and ask my colleagues to join me in praising his commitment to his music, his family, and his community.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. PASTOR of Arizona asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. The devastating impacts of the Ryan budget are on full display in the fiscal year 2014 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies bill. My good friend, Chairman Tom Latham, was given an impossible allocation of $44.1 billion. This is $4.4 billion below the fiscal year 2013 sequestration level and $10 billion below the level included in the Senate bill. As a result, the FY 2014 bill makes deep cuts to a number of critical transportation and housing programs. Within the Department of Transportation, the bill cuts the programs and activities of the Federal Aviation Administration by $756 million below the FY 2013 CR level. While the bill provides enough funds to avoid additional furloughs, it is unclear whether FAA will be able to completely lift the hiring freeze that has been in place during this fiscal year. The FAA's NextGen program will also be impacted by delaying the important developmental work on many of the program's emerging technologies. Amtrak's capital program is cut by more than $350 million, which will jeopardize long distance service and some short haul routes. At these funding levels, Amtrak will have to suspend mechanical overhauls on equipment, which will result in slow orders and furloughs of hundreds of mechanical employees and engineers. The Department of Housing and Urban Development sustained even deeper cuts. The bill reduces funding for the CDBG, the Community Development Block Grant, program to $1.6 billion, which is the lowest level since the program was created in 1975. The HOME program is funded at $700 million, which is the lowest level since the program began in 1992. The bill funds the Public Housing Capital Fund at its lowest level since 1987, adding more than $1 billion in deferred capital maintenance to an existing $26 billion maintenance backlog. In closing, I do want to commend the chairman, Tom Latham, for funding the critical safety missions of the Department of Transportation and for honoring the obligation limitations in the surface and aviation bills. The chairman has also included sufficient funding to move 10,000 more homeless veterans off the street and into housing. Despite the chairman's efforts, I have great concerns with the bill as it is currently written. I remain hopeful that we can achieve a more realistic allocation as the appropriations process moves forward this year. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my distinguished friend from Chicago (Mr. Quigley).

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, we're waiting for the ranking member of the full committee. She is on her way. So I will fill in the best I can.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. First of all, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Visclosky, who is the ranking member on the Defense Appropriations, for his excellent presentation. Also, I join him in making that request to our leadership, both the majority and the minority, that we begin the conversation. We only have a few days before September 30 rolls around. So I would hope that we take his comments seriously and get to work and continue the process of the appropriation and lift the sequestration. Mr. Chairman, at this time I would yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), the distinguished ranking member of the full committee.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, before I yield back my time, as we start this amendment process, I want to thank and commend the staff of the subcommittee. These are the individuals who worked very hard to bring this bill forward. They worked many hours and put in a lot of time and effort, so before we start the amendment process I want to recognize their hard work. So I'd like to thank, from the minority staff, Kate Hallahan and Joe Carlile; from the majority staff, Dena Baron, Doug Disrud, Carl Barrick, Cheryle Tucker, and Brian Bernard because they spent countless hours bringing this bill to us. Mr. Chairman, I commend Chairman Latham for doing what he could with this bad allocation, and I look forward to the amendment process I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I support the gentleman's amendment. It ensures that the Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response would receive no less than $10.778 million. This office performs important security functions of the Department of Transportation. I would urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I have no objection to the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I would agree with Chairman Latham that this reform needs to come about, and it shouldn't be in an appropriation bill. Hopefully, the T&I authorizing committee will look at this issue and come to a decision. It was interesting that the amendment before this amendment, we basically waived Hawaii and Alaska. And here we are now limiting the Essential Air Service to $250. I would tell you, as we tried to explain to my colleague from Florida, that this would probably cause 100--maybe a little more--smaller communities not to be able to link to the national air service. So this is not the time to do it. So I would rise in opposition to this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word to speak in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. PASTOR of Arizona. The Essential Air Service program was designed to continue air service for small communities that had scheduled air service prior to airline deregulation. It is funded through annual appropriations and overflight fees that are collected when foreign air carriers traverse through U.S. airspace. This amendment cuts the overall program in half. Many small communities would lose their air service, including, we believe, four communities in the State of California: Crescent City, El Centro, Merced, and Visalia. This is not the way to reform this program. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.