FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2015
Contact: Chris Schloesser/Marc Rehmann
Edwards Statement on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Bill
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (MD-4) today issued the following statement regarding her vote against H.R. 2577, the Fiscal Year 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 216-210.
“I continue to be disheartened by how House Republicans claim to be a party in support of American families and yet they bring legislation to the House floor that freezes or cuts critical investment in our nation, both today and well into the future,” Edwards said. “This bill proposes enormous cuts to policy that would create good paying jobs and grow the economy, such as improving America’s transportation and infrastructure, along with depleting investments that could have strengthened communities by addressing homelessness and providing assistance for the poor and most vulnerable.
“This legislation simply fails American businesses and families looking for surety. It shortchanges investments important to middle-class priorities such as improving our nation’s roads, bridges, rail and transit infrastructure, and aviation systems. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am appalled and disappointed by what the GOP would do to programs vital to Maryland, such as the following:
- Cutting by one-third (from $150 million to $100 million) the federal matching funds for much needed rider safety improvements in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) – a necessity for Marylanders living and working in the National Capital Region;
- Cutting Amtrak’s budget at a time of record ridership to the lowest level since 2003, which many Marylanders depend on for daily travel on the busy Northeast Corridor. With a $2 billion Amtrak backlog for the DC and Maryland areas, this means a longer time for much needed improvements to both Union Station and the Baltimore-Potomac Tunnel;
- Slashing TIGER grant funding, which spurs innovation and propels economic mobility by helping connect people to jobs in communities across the US, to nearly 80 percent below its current level; and
- Cutting locally planned transit capital investments by more than 40 percent.
“The bill also includes harmful cuts to programs crucial to our country’s underserved populace. At a time when 75 percent of low-income Maryland families use federal rental assistance, this bill would set back efforts to end homelessness and underfund housing support for families with children, the elderly, and the disabled. Further, it includes unnecessary and unrelated foreign policy riders that would place restrictions on options for educational, religious, or other permitted travel to Cuba.”
