Rep. Ellison: Missed Opportunities on Transportation and Housing

Statement

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement today after the House of Representatives passed the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Act.

"Republicans passed a spending bill today that underfunds thousands of transportation projects and ensures that millions of Americans will continue to pay more than half of their income in rent and utilities.

"The appropriations bill unnecessarily restricts transportation funding from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grants Program for bike, passenger rail and pedestrian projects to $9 billion less than the demand. Funding for New Starts, the program that built the Hiawatha Light Rail Line and the Central Corridor, is also inadequate. When Republicans refuse to fund projects our communities need, they prevent the economic recovery from reaching thousands of Americans looking for work.

"The spending bill also underfunds the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), leaving many families to struggle to keep a roof over their heads. HUD only provides housing assistance to one-in-four families eligible for support--a direct result of the agency's lack of funds. The vast majority of the HUD budget is dedicated to existing contracts, which means this bill does nothing to help families move off the waiting list for assistance into an affordable home. I introduced an amendment to replace the unbalanced mortgage interest deduction with a flat-rate tax credit that would have provided a greater benefit to 16 million more current homeowners and provided hundreds of thousands of new homes. The amendment was denied a vote.

"Investing to rebuild our roads, bridges, bike trails and transit systems gives Americans more options to get safely from one place to another and creates good paying jobs. Providing housing assistance to low-income families, veterans, people with disabilities and the elderly enables families to be financially stable. Both of these goals could have been advanced in this appropriations bill. Unfortunately, Republicans continue to prioritize tax breaks for the wealthy and costly loopholes for Wall Street over investments in America's working families."

Source