House Again Passes Barletta Bill to Reform Disaster Recovery
The
"America needs a better system that saves lives and taxpayer dollars by building stronger, more resilient infrastructure before disaster strikes," Barletta said after passage. "We cannot afford to continue spending tens of billions of dollars on disasters like we did last year. It's time for us to help communities across the nation build better and build smarter by incentivizing pre-disaster mitigation. The Disaster Recovery Reform Act will do just that and will save the federal government
A bipartisan effort led by Barletta to address disaster recovery in the
Barletta, who is the Chairman of the
In addition to DRRA, H.R. 4 also includes an amendment offered by Barletta that creates a new grant program for infrastructure investments in small and medium sized airports.
"Infrastructure truly is the backbone of our economy," Barletta said, "and that means we must provide adequate funding for our transportation systems, including railways, highways, and of course, airports. For years, the airports in and around my district have talked about projects that they want to move forward with but could not fund. With my amendment, we will finally be able to put a dent in this infrastructure backlog."
More information about DRRA can be found here (https://transportation.house.gov/drra/).
To watch Barletta's remarks about DRRA on the House floor, click here (https://youtu.be/w50FIa59_rk). A full transcript is below:
Unfortunately, this is the second time my bill has been considered on the House floor, because our colleagues on the other side of the
In fact, in 2017, eight percent of the
Studies have repeatedly shown that for every
Both
It is my hope that this time, our colleagues in the
I know just how important disaster assistance is because in 2011, my own district was devastated by flooding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. I visited with the families and employers affected by this tragedy, and it made me realize we need to do something to help communities build better and smarter before disaster strikes. My bill will do just that.
I thank Chairman Shuster and my House colleagues for their continued commitment to making resiliency a priority.
I would also like to thank the Chairman for including language I offered with my friend from
We have an obligation to ensure this entire system, including everything from large hubs to regional airports, is maintained and improved to better serve the American people.
While I was disappointed that our original committee-adopted amendment to increase funding levels for the Airport Improvement Program was not included in the final bill, I am hopeful that this grant will give airports a new infrastructure tool in their toolbox.
Again, I urge passage of H.R. 4, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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