Chair lowey i will say good morning again. I call this meeting of the committee on appropriations to order. Before we begin, house rules require me to remind you that we have set up an email address to which members could send anything they wish to submit in writing. That email address has been provided to your staff. Our first order of Business Today is consideration of the department of defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 2021. I will not recognize to present the bill. Thank you, madam chairwoman. Before i begin my remarks, i reluctantly have to acknowledge this will be my final Opening Statement before the House Appropriations committee. I have no new revelations to make but for those of you who will remain on this committee, there are a few things i would like to say. Him saying them as someone who is so compulsive, he saved the congressional record on the day he was appointed to this committee after years of efforts, which makes mr. Rogers, my good friend, the only person
Many liberals think obama didnt do enough. He was given an emergency opportunity and should have pushed harder for a bigger stimulus to repair the country. So House Appropriations subcommittee is going to review 2021 spending levels for transportation and housing and urban Development Department as well as other related agencies. No changes are expected before sending it to the full committee, but we do expect statements from members. Good morning, everyone. Subcommittee will come to order. I certainly appreciate everyones flexibility and good humor, as we gather around under these socially distanced circumstances. The covid pandemic has certainly made for some unique challenges, but it hasnt deterred us from conducting our critical appropriations work on behalf of the american people. So im proud to unveil this fiscal 2021 transportation, housing, and urban development and related agencies appropriations bill. I want to briefly mention some of the bills highlights, but i want to first
Still hospitalized. Even during the weekend when the actual reporting slows down a bit, we continue to see record high case counts. And we continue to be concerned with our percentage of positive tests. We are watching closely to capacity. Spital bed tell you, thatll can change really quickly. As we see North Carolinas upward trends, we must redouble our work. Our department of health and Human Services team is pushing local Health Departments, especially in counties experiencing the highest growth. Forsyth, lee, mecklenburg, and wake are of particular concern. Over the weekend i talked with Vice President pence. I asked him and the federal government to help us with increasing testing sites and capabilities. Another focus will be testing all nursing home residents and staff and this testing is ongoing. Ournow going to ask secretary of health and Human Services to share an update for us. Dr. Cohen . Thank you, governor. Slowing the spread of the virus early on has allowed us to build o
We pray for those who have lost loved ones and for those who are still hospitalized. Even during the weekend when the actual reporting slows down a bit, we continue to see record high case counts. And we continue to be concerned with our percentage of positive tests. And there hospitalizations. We are watching closely to monitor hospital bed capacity. As well as icu bed capacity. Right now, our hospitals do have bed capacity and that is good. But as dr. Cohen will tell you, that can change really quickly. As we see North Carolinas upward trends, we must redouble our work. Detecting and isolating the virus. Our department of health and Human Services team is pushing assistance to local Health Departments, especially in counties experiencing the highest growth. Durham, forsyth, guilford, johnston, lee, mecklenburg, and wake are of particular concern. Over the weekend i talked with Vice President pence about North Carolinas concerning numbers. I asked him and the federal government to hel
So many other innocent black men and women violently taken from their families and loved ones. This is a pain all too familiar for too many black americans. And this is a moment of reckoning for our mom nation blk americans have borne the front of the systemic racism as has native American Communities and hispanic to mexico and across the nation. So many of our officers protect and serve with honor and integrity. But we cannot continue to sweep Police Brutality and racial inequality under the rug to ignore the painful legacies until the next tragedy. There are thousands of americans of every political strife across the nation who have come out in peaceful protestan a demanding change. Now, we know there are a small field exploiting our nations pain, and using violence to disrupt. We unequivocally condemn all acts of violence and call for nonviolence and urgent action. By calling for the us military to quell protest has on as the president has done that crosses the line between civilian