00:00Thank you very much to Chair Hyde-Smith and Ranking Member Gillibrand for your work together to put a bill together that makes crucial investments in our infrastructure and in our families.
00:10I would like to do more to address the housing crisis. I will not stop pushing for that, but I am glad to say this bill rejects President Trump's proposed cuts to rental assistance that would have put 10 million people at risk of eviction, mostly kids, seniors, and people with disabilities.
00:26This bill does deliver funding to help make sure no one is kicked out of their home and keeps families stably housed, and that is very important.
00:35It also rejects cuts to fair housing enforcement, increases funding for economic self-sufficiency programs, and increases funding to prevent homelessness and help those experiencing it, another priority that this President, for whatever reason, would like us to do less, not more.
00:51And when it comes to transportation, this bipartisan bill includes a much-needed increase for FAA to hire air traffic controllers, modernize equipment, and more.
01:02It also invests in highway safety, rail safety, pipeline safety, not to mention investments in our ports and our shipyards.
01:10It rejects Trump's cuts to essential air services that would have cut off many of our small and rural communities, and it rejects the House Republican proposal to slash capital investment grants by 98%.
01:23And, of course, rejects Trump's plan to eliminate BUILD grants.
01:27That is a program that I helped launch.
01:29It supports major construction projects in our country.
01:32So, overall, this is a very solid compromise bill that protects important work in all of our states, and I, again, appreciate the work that went into it.
