tonko, for 30 minutes. mr. tonko: thank you, mr. speaker. we're going to use these 30 minutes to speak to fast track in a process on trade agreements that are developed. and i believe it's so important for the american public to understand exactly what fast track is all about. i also ask, mr. speaker that the unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the subject of my special order. i know that ept arive louise slaughter was going to join us and she submitted some comments in writing that will be incorporated. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. tonko: thank you mr. speaker. tonight we're here to discuss as i indicated, trade promotion authority. also known most commonly known, as fast track. and free trade agreements that would be accompanied by fast track process are a way to bring about devastating outcomes, if not done correctly, to the american economy and most importantly to the american worker. d of late, most notably, t

tonko and mr. harper to now get together and try to see where there's similarities and agreement so we can kind of move forward together and you can see there's a lot of areas in our country that are kind of left behind just because they're small. it's not a political statement. it's just the nature of our country. i really appreciate the involvement of my colleagues too. so thank you. i need some business to do. i ask unanimous consent that all subcommittee members have five legislative days to submit opening statements for the record. without objection so ordered. also unanimous consent in asserting a letter from dr. ralph jones and a letter and report from the environmental working group without objection. so ordered. and remind folks that members of the committee have ten days to submit written questions for the witnesses to be included. you may get some as follow-up. we'd ask you that answer those, or return those if you can. and that is without objection.

ranking member tonko and members of the subcommittee. i'm pleased to be here today to discuss the infrastructure needs >> if you could, if you could pull that little bit closer and for our other panelists there's a button in the middle. hit that button when it's time to speak. thank you. >> thank you. i'm pleased to be here today to discuss the infrastructure needs facing rural communities across the nation, particularly for drinking water systems. the u.s. faces costly upgrades to aging water infrastructure. the demand for drinking water and waste water infrastructure projects in communities with populations of 10,000 and fewer is estimated to be more than 190 billion in coming decades. my statement today summarizes the results of our reports on rural water infrastructure. i'll focus on two main areas. first rural agencies funding for drinking water. and waste water infrastructure. issues affecting rural communities abilities to obtain funding for this type of infrastructure. first, federal agencies administer programs that can provide

tonko: absolutely. mr. garamendi: so we have our task in major infrastructure, putting people to work and guaranteeing the future for california water supplies. mr. tonko: i couldn't agree more. i think what we can do to supplement efforts individual states is so critical right now because the need is so of demand. and you know, when i talk about this, i hear in your counterparts in california about the huge loss of water that had with some of the water main breaks. again, it's the dollars, the it's the water, it's the electrons that is flowing by us. i heard from representatives in texas, from maryland, in new england, the northeast, all saying it's about time we need to do something here. my gosh, we have wooden pipes serving some communities. so it's -- you know, out of sight, out of mind. it's beneath that surface and we're just believing that water supply will be there and that the pipes will last forever. we know that the acidic quality of soils will wear the pipes from the outside. the velocity will

ranking member tonko and members of the subcommittee.'m pleased to be here today to discuss the infrastructure needs -- >> could you pull that a little bit closer and for our other panelists there's a button in the middle. hit that button when it's time to speak. thank you. >> thank you. i'm pleased to be here today to discuss the infrastructure needs facing rural communities across the nation, particularly for drinking water systems. the u.s. faces costly upgrades to ageing water infrastructure. the demand for drinking water and waste water infrastructure projects in communities with populations of 10,000 and fewer is estimated to be more than 190 billion in coming decades. my statement today summarizes the results of our reports on rural water infrastructure. i'll focus on two main areas. first rural agencies funding for drinking water. and waste water infrastructure. issues affecting rural communities abilities to obtain funding for this type of infrastructure. first, federal agencies administer programs that can provide funding and t

tonko. >> thank you to our witnesses and for holding this hearing. i appreciate the opportunity to work with vice chair harper. we have all heard the repeated statistics about rural and small water systems. more than 94% of the public drinking water systems in the u.s. serve fewer than 3300 customers. smat system small systems dominate in numbers, but the key feesh they are interested in is not the size of their water utility. it is relyiablereliable, daily clean, safe delivery of water to their homes. we will hear from managers of these small systems here this morning. and what we will hear is they cannot simply pass all of their technical assistance keeping pace with drinking water regulations on to their customers with ongoing rate increases increases. the rate for these small systems are too small to cover the essentials and services. it is long past time for us to provide robust support for our water utilities. investigation to the support our grant programs, we should also examine alternative finance financing mechanisms and potential new partn

tonko and mr.arper for their bipartisan work to raise this issue before the subcommittee. according to the census bureau 27% of the u.s. population lives in rural areas. the smallest water systems account for 77% of all systems. as someone who represents communities and small town and rural america, i'm glad we have bipartisan interest in tackling this subject. small and rural drinking rural supply systems are subject to a number of regulations issued by e.p.a. they are monitor and treatment to remove contaminant and reporting. it requires technical and managerial capabilities that are difficult to develop. when it comes to regulatory compliance it's ironic where these communities work hard to support the communities and earning wages below those of their counterparts in the area and demands that are disproportionate to many larger communities. sometimes it's a matter of having the ability to keep up with the red tape. while i'm sure we will explore the funding mechanism the agricultural department

tonko: this body's routine budgeting practices have fallen away in the last four years, only to be replaced by big, these budgets go nowhere while the most vulnerable individuals and families in our communities see their needs grow larger and their potential to make their own success grow smaller. our priorities should be simple enough, public investment in quality education, infrastructure, job training program, research and a national energy policy that encourages innovation and new jobs. the strategy we have seen of cutting our way to prosperity simply does not work. the more we do it, the more cut ourselves down while more nations pass us by. as we work our way through the 2016 budgeting process, instead of telling our constituent ours values let's show them what we value by producing an ambitious budget that creates opportunity for our american middle class and those struggling to enter it or to stay in it. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent t