[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6301-H6307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEMOCRATS DELIVERED ON INFRASTRUCTURE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
General Leave
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special
Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, to honor the memory of a 104-year-old
hero of World War II and a survivor of the infamous Bataan Death March,
I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Duncan).
Moment of Silence Honoring Brigadier General Ben Skardon
Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding because
I know that he, too, works hard for our Nation's veterans and the men
and women who serve in the United States military.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and recognize a World War II
and Korean war veteran, Colonel Ben Skardon, who was notified last week
that he was set to receive an honorary promotion to the rank of
Brigadier General.
After months of coordination and conversations between my office, the
Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, Congress, and the
family of Colonel Skardon, the Army and DOD have concurred with my
recommendation and, in an extremely rare circumstance, approved Colonel
Skardon's promotion to the rank of Brigadier General.
Very few American soldiers ever receive this honor in this manner,
and it is well deserved on behalf of Colonel Skardon for his brave
military service to our country.
Now, let me just tell you that Colonel Skardon served in World War
II, and he was in the Philippines as commander of Company A of the 92nd
Infantry Regiment Philippine Army and led his troops through some of
the fiercest days of World War II in the South Pacific.
After the surrender of tens of thousands of Filipino and U.S.
soldiers to Japanese forces on April 9, 1942, Skardon was forced into
the infamous Bataan Death March. For 65 miles, Skardon and many others
were forced to walk, suffering physical abuse, fatigue, and the mental
exhaustion of watching the death of many fellow prisoners.
Colonel Skardon survived this horrific march because of his
perseverance and commitment to his will to live. Skardon's strength and
will continued for the 1,255 days he spent in Japanese prison as a
prisoner of war.
He defied all odds with the help of two fellow Clemson University
graduates who spoon-fed him and made sure he was safe from Japanese
guards. Skardon managed to keep hidden his Clemson ring. As a Clemson
alumnus who wears his ring proudly, I understand the sacrifice that he
made to keep that hidden.
He and his fellow alumni made the tough decision to trade Colonel
Skardon's gold Clemson ring for food and medicine, which ultimately
saved his life. With the help of his fellow soldiers and his pawned
ring, he recovered.
Skardon also survived the sinking of two unmarked hell ships,
prisoner of war ships, that were transporting POWs to mainland Japan.
Not just one but two prison ships were sunk by the United States
military.
At 24 years old and only 90 pounds, he was finally liberated in
Manchuria by Russian units in 1945.
After World War II, he went on to serve our Nation in the Korean war,
retiring with the rank of colonel in 1962.
His leadership skills were exemplified by his continued military
involvement with the young men and women in ROTC at Clemson who wanted
to go on and serve in our military. Colonel Skardon would mentor them
about what they faced.
For all of his valor, endurance, and suffering in World War II, he
was awarded two Silver Stars and two Bronze Stars for valor. He was a
Purple Heart recipient and a Congressional Gold Medal recipient.
When he retired, he continued his life of service as a professor at
Clemson University for nearly 20 years. He earned several esteemed
citizen and civilian awards, including the Clemson Medallion, Clemson
University's highest honor; the Alumni Distinguished Service Award, the
Clemson Alumni Association's highest honor; and from the State of South
Carolina, the Order of the Palmetto.
His life of perseverance and selfless leadership exemplified what it
means not only to be a United States soldier but a true American hero.
Colonel Skardon was informed of the promotion that he received from
colonel to brigadier general just this weekend. Colonel Skardon was 104
years old. He passed away last night.
Working to secure his promotion to brigadier general is one of the
most humbling acts that I have undertaken during my time in Congress,
and I have no doubt that divine intervention was responsible for
ensuring that he learned of this great honor that our country bestowed
upon him before his passing.
My thoughts and prayers are with his family and the Clemson community
during this time. He will be deeply missed, but he will never be
forgotten.
To the family of General Ben Skardon, and to Ben, Godspeed. We
appreciate your service to our great Nation. You wore that Clemson ring
proudly. Clemson honored you. I honor you today, and I thank you for
your service to our great Nation. Godspeed.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Duncan for that
fine tribute, and I ask, in harmony with Congressman Duncan, that this
House observe a moment of silence in honor of the memory of this World
War II hero, Colonel Ben Skardon.
Madam Speaker, this week, Democrats delivered on infrastructure.
Over the past number of years, we have had infrastructure week after
infrastructure week. Eventually, infrastructure week became a joke.
Now, under the current administration, we have made good on our
promise to rebuild the arteries of America. We have delivered a once-
in-a-century investment in all the infrastructure that makes our Nation
run.
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It is the kind of investment that will create millions of good-paying
jobs and make our Nation more competitive with every other country in
the world.
When President Biden signed into law this bill, this act, yesterday,
it was the largest investment in rebuilding bridges since the
construction of the Interstate Highway System, the largest Federal
investment in passenger rail since the original establishment of
Amtrak, and the largest investment in clean drinking water in American
history.
So important for my district in northeastern Pennsylvania, this will
put northeastern Pennsylvania back on the passenger rail map, bring
broadband internet to every rural area in my district, and support our
efforts to reclaim all the abandoned mine land sites that have scarred
our landscape for decades and fouled our watercourses for that length
of time as well.
It will create millions of jobs, good-paying jobs, American jobs,
union jobs, jobs that cannot be outsourced across the ocean.
This is truly a transformative law that will help us build a stronger
middle class and a brighter future for our entire Nation.
What we are here to talk about this evening is what it means to us,
this kind of investment, this kind of belief in our future here in
America, what it means to us individually, in our particular districts.
I have here this evening my fellow Pennsylvanian from the Second
Congressional District of Pennsylvania, Representative Brendan Boyle.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Brendan F. Boyle) so he can tell us what it means to him that we have
made this historic investment in America.
Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, the last
President made the term ``infrastructure week'' a running joke. Under
President Biden and Democrats in Congress, infrastructure decade is now
a reality.
That decade officially began yesterday afternoon when my colleague
and I and many others were over on the South Lawn of the White House to
watch President Biden sign into law this historic investment in our
Nation's infrastructure.
There are two points that I want to make about it. First, this was
absolutely needed. Both the International Council of Engineers as well
as the American Council of Engineers rated the state of America's
infrastructure anywhere as good as a C-minus to as bad as an F,
depending on the given year.
If you went back a century ago, the United States of America was the
unquestioned leader in infrastructure. That is how we were able to
build the American century. The fact that a century later we don't lead
in that area should bother all of us as Americans.
I want America to be number one. That is what we are called to do, to
lead. Yet, the state of our infrastructure over years and years and
decades had been allowed to fall behind. Well, not anymore. That is
point number one, that it is needed.
{time} 1630
Point number two, what it will produce is jobs. Frankly, the
bipartisan infrastructure deal is a blue-collar blueprint for America.
My family's background is one that is typical of so many of us in
Philadelphia--blue-collar, working-class background. There used to be
jobs aplenty if you didn't have a college education, but the reality
is, as the United States and most of the West has transformed into a
knowledge economy, if you are a blue-collar American, the last several
decades have not been that good for you.
Well, here is a piece of legislation to address that, to create
millions of jobs that don't require a college degree.
I passionately believe, as cofounder and co-chair of the Blue Collar
Caucus, that it is not sufficient to say to a whole swath of Americans:
Well, if you don't have a higher education, too bad. Just go get
retrained, figure it out on your own.
That is not good enough. We are talking about millions and millions
of Americans who deserve to have family-sustaining jobs, who are smart,
who are hard working. They just need their government to invest more in
them, to create those opportunities.
Well, sure enough, that is exactly what this bill does. My colleague,
my fellow Pennsylvanian went down the list of the investments that we
are making: Roads, bridges, rail, mass transit, replacing lead pipes,
high-speed internet. The list goes on and on. It is an investment in
America and our people.
I am very proud that I voted in favor of this legislation, proud to
have worked with my colleagues and this President to make this a
reality.
And, finally, I do just want to pay a special thanks to the 19 Senate
Republicans and 13 House Republicans who did the right thing and joined
with us. Obviously, the overwhelming majority of votes for this
legislation came from Democrats, but it really says something in this
highly partisan time that we were able to get a significant number of
friends from the other side of the aisle to join with us and do the
right thing on this piece of legislation.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Will the gentleman yield for a question?
Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Yes.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. You mentioned being number one and competing. What
are you talking about, being number one, on what list? And who do we
have to compete with?
Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Let's face it, we are in a
worldwide competition, especially against China. And let me be clear, I
am speaking about the Chinese Government, not its people. The Chinese
regime does not share our values. It is not committed to democracy. Far
from it. President Xi or dictator-for-life Xi actually challenges
whether or not democracy will survive. We know that China, through its
Belt and Road Initiative, is making infrastructure investments not only
in China but in other parts of the world because they want to gain a
foothold.
I feel passionately about this. As a proud American, I make no
apologies for the fact that I want us to be number one in the world.
But I believe that it is actually best, not just for the United States,
but best for all people in the world who yearn to breathe free.
This infrastructure bill will help us not just domestically, but I do
believe that as the United States grows, as we grow our economy, as we
make an investment in people for whom the modern economy has not
necessarily been a good deal, I believe we will help set a shining
example to the rest of the world.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Boyle for his
insights about the competition aspect.
By delivering this infrastructure bill yesterday afternoon, as we
did, Democrats are delivering millions of good-paying union jobs, jobs
that will put pipefitters and plumbers to work replacing lead water
pipes so every child in America can drink clean water. No more will we
have the Flint, Michigans where little kids get poisoned by lead in
their drinking water, because we are going to rip out all that 100-
year-old piping with the lead in it so that won't happen again.
We will transform roads, rail, bridges, public transit, modernize our
ports and airports and freight rail, manufacture solar panels, wind
farms, batteries, electric vehicles to grow clean energy supply chains
that we can export to the rest of the world.
This is a transformational moment not only for the American economy
but for the American future and the American people.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the 4th Congressional
District of Pennsylvania, Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, to elucidate
further on what it means that we enacted this law yesterday afternoon.
So far it is all Pennsylvanians.
Ms. DEAN. Madam Speaker, I am so excited about this bill that I have
gone hoarse talking about it, so I apologize for my gravelly voice, but
it is not from any lack of enthusiasm for the bipartisan infrastructure
bill, which is really a jobs bill.
I want to just commend my colleagues from Pennsylvania and from
around the country, as we fought for this bill, as we fought for this
infrastructure investment, and as we voted on it, and then yesterday
had the historic day of watching our President sign it into law.
Madam Speaker, it was 10 years ago that I first ran for public
office. I ran for township commissioner, and what I
[[Page H6303]]
said then was that I wanted to build a more buildable, walkable,
commutable, bikeable infrastructure for my older-ring suburb of
Philadelphia.
Little did I know that I would then go on to serve as State
representative for 6\1/2\ years. My proudest vote as a State
representative was Act 89 of 2013, a bipartisan, multiyear investment
in our infrastructure. My proudest vote.
And look at us today. We now have the chance to make this much-needed
investment in Pennsylvania and across the country in every district
where dollars will be flowing to modernize our infrastructure, to make
it greener.
Here are just some of the estimates for what will be coming to
Pennsylvania:
$11.3 billion to upgrade roads and highways. We know that in my
older-ring suburb our highways, our roads are in grave need of
upgrading for safety and other purposes;
$2.8 billion for public transportation. Again, in my suburbs, we rely
upon public transportation, and we want it to be more reliable so that
more people will be using it with ease to protect our climate and our
streets;
$1.4 billion in safe drinking water. Again, incredibly important
across this country, whether from lead pipes, or from, as in my
district and many others, the contamination of PFAS;
$244 million investment in weatherization to our homes;
$1.6 billion toward improving bridges. Pennsylvania sadly has a
historic number of bridges in need of reconstruction or replacement;
$100 million to expand broadband access; and
$355 million to modernize airport infrastructure.
There is so much we will be able to do with this bipartisan
investment in our infrastructure.
Know also that it is about growing jobs, good jobs, jobs of the
future, and it is also anti-inflationary, which is something I know all
of my constituents care about.
I will end maybe on my grandchildren. I am so excited, and I will be
telling them for years about the chance to work on the bipartisan
infrastructure bill, the chance to vote for it, and the chance to stand
alongside the President as he signed this 50-, 60-year investment in
their futures. I hope they will be as proud as I am of the President
and all of us for getting it done.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Will the gentlewoman yield for a question?
Ms. DEAN. Certainly.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. It is a sad question, I have to say, because we call
it the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but the truth
is, despite their best efforts to claim credit in local news across the
country, 206 House Republicans voted against this bill. They voted
against good-paying American jobs, they voted against roads, bridges,
and rail systems, water systems and sewer systems, against broadband,
and clean drinking water. They voted against the tools that we need to
compete and win in the global economy as Representative Boyle pointed
out.
My question is why? Why would they vote against this belief in our
country, this investment in our future? Why would they vote against it?
Ms. DEAN. I certainly don't know what is in their heart or what is in
their vote. But I will say that these were infrastructure investments
that these very same Representatives fought for under the previous
administration. They enthusiastically embraced week, after week, after
week, after week as Infrastructure Week.
I hope this is not the case, but sadly it seems as though the
investments in their communities came down to a political choice
because, as you have heard some people say--and they complain about
this, but it is only testimony to the power of this bill--that this
will actually perhaps give Democrats a win.
We didn't do it for a win. We did it for a win for the American
people, for our infrastructure, and for our future, but there is some
awareness on the other side of the aisle that this is politically
damaging to them. Sad to say.
I do believe that it will be interesting to be at all the ribbon
cuttings, and I hope in a bipartisan way all Members are at the ribbon
cuttings because of the difference this will make, and it will be up to
them to decide why they did vote ``no.''
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Madeleine Dean
of the 4th Congressional District of Pennsylvania.
This bill does so much, and we are so proud here tonight to talk
about it. It is a win for the American people no matter which way you
slice it.
Building out our first ever national network of charging stations so
families can travel coast to coast in electric vehicles, making high-
speed internet available and affordable for every household in America,
especially those rural, hard-to-get-to places, cleaning up brownfields
and Superfund sites, as well as plugging, as I said before, abandoned
mine lands and orphan wells to stop pollution and protect public health
and to build up our resistance to superstorms, droughts, wildfires, and
hurricanes that cost us billions of dollars in damage, $99 billion last
year alone.
This bipartisan infrastructure deal is a blue-collar blueprint to
rebuild America, and a majority of these jobs, as Representative Boyle
pointed out, do not require a college degree.
So the question is, what does it mean to us? What does it mean to us
that we have passed this magnificent, enormous investment in American
infrastructure, this belief in our Nation's future?
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr.
Cicilline) to describe what it means to him and his 1st District
constituents.
Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and
for convening this Special Order hour.
The impact of this legislation is significant in my home State of
Rhode Island and all across our country. The United States has the
largest economy in the world, yet our roads and bridges are crumbling,
our ports and airports are in disrepair, over 10 million households do
not have safe drinking water. This is unacceptable.
We cannot compete in a global economy unless we can move goods,
services, and information to compete in the 21st century.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill which President Biden signed, and
we worked hard to pass, invests $550 billion in new funding to bring
America's infrastructure into the 21st century so that we cannot only
improve the quality of life, grow our economy, create millions of good-
paying jobs, but also to ensure that we can compete globally.
This legislation, which the President signed yesterday, includes the
largest ever Federal investments in public transit, clean drinking
water and wastewater infrastructure, and clean energy transmission and
electric vehicle infrastructure. It includes the largest investment in
passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak, and the largest dedicated
bridge investment since we built the Interstate Highway System.
This legislation will create millions of good-paying union jobs while
also addressing the critical infrastructure needs of our country and of
my home State of Rhode Island.
This monumental investment in infrastructure is the first part of a
plan to not only create good-paying jobs but to ensure Americans have
the support they need to succeed in those jobs. Combined with the Build
Back Better Act, these two historic bills will create 1\1/2\ million
good-paying jobs each year over the next decade and accelerate
America's path to full employment.
{time} 1645
For Rhode Island with this bill enacted into law, we will see $2.5
billion coming straight to Rhode Island to help fix our roads and
bridges, replace lead pipes, improve our public transportation system,
and increase broadband access. And that is not to mention the billions
of dollars in dedicated funding for Amtrak's Northeast corridor, which
will certainly benefit Rhode Islanders and all of us in New England.
Our State has the highest percentage of structurally deficient
bridges in the country. In 2019, 22.3 percent of our bridges were
structurally deficient. In 2020, our State's infrastructure was given a
C minus by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
This is unacceptable and unsafe.
The funding streams that this legislation will provide are the
following: $1.5 billion for Federal aid highway apportioned programs;
$242 million for
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bridge replacement and repairs in Rhode Island; $272 million to improve
public transportation in Rhode Island; $23 million to support expansion
of the State's electric vehicle charging network in Rhode Island; $100
million to expand broadband connectivity, including providing access to
the 14,000 Rhode Islanders who currently lack it; and 247,000 Rhode
Islanders, 24 percent of Rhode Island, will be eligible for the
Affordable Connectivity Benefit to help working families afford
internet access; $2 million to protect against wildfires; $10.9 million
to protect against cyberattacks; $378 million to improve water
infrastructure; and $45 million for our airports.
These are significant, historic investments in rebuilding the
infrastructure of our State, and the same thing is happening in States
all across America.
I salute the President for his strong leadership. I salute my
colleagues that worked so hard on this legislation. It is going to help
ensure that America can compete again in the global economy.
And most importantly, it will improve the quality of our lives for
our constituents. It will improve our economy. It will grow good-paying
jobs. And it will make America proud of the quality of its
infrastructure once again.
I want to end by particularly acknowledging the men and women in the
building trades who are going to do this work; and do it with such
pride that they are not only going to improve our economy, but also
improve our quality of life. I salute all of the men and women in the
building trades.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. You also mentioned competition, and Congressman Boyle
brought that up. And you also mentioned how much is going into
broadband internet availability in Rhode Island.
How does that affect competition and the ability of Rhode Islanders
to compete?
Mr. CICILLINE. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. I yield to the gentleman from Rhode Island.
Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the question.
I think when you look at particularly what we experienced during
COVID, we saw some of the difficulties that families--particularly
families with young children--had in accessing the internet so they
could receive school instruction. And the reality is you need internet
connections to access the world and to be able to communicate and be
able to learn in the 21st century.
And there were young people who were actually going to parking lots
of McDonald's and other places that might have internet to do their
homework. That can't happen in America.
And so we want to ensure that rebuilding our infrastructure provides
opportunities for every single young person in this country to realize
their full potential. Because we are not just competing with the kid
next door, we are competing with kids in China, Japan, and all over the
world.
We want to ensure that we have an infrastructure to support the
economic growth we need. We also want to ensure that we can deliver
goods, services, and information in the 21st century and that we are
training young people and educating young people and training workers
to compete successfully. You can't do that without infrastructure to
support that development, that knowledge, and the work that needs to be
done.
You think of the experiences we saw during COVID. It made it very
clear that we needed to move quickly. Our competitors around the world
are investing tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure. They are
competing directly with us.
This is a race for the 21st century and a race we are going to win in
large part because we are finally investing in America's
infrastructure.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I think Mr. Cicilline is right. I
think competition is maybe the biggest point of the bipartisan
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Competition that will not only
grease the skids for our companies to bring their products to market
and to innovate and to compete with companies all over the world, but
maybe more importantly, to allow our individuals--as Mr. Cicilline just
pointed out--to make the most of themselves.
It was about 80 years ago that we had the Rural Electrification Act
in the United States, and it did pretty much the same thing with
electricity because you had pockets, little corners of America, rural
places mostly, that didn't have electric power. And to think how far
they would have been left behind if 80 years ago the government didn't
make the effort to include all of America as we moved forward into the
modern age of electricity; it is the same thing with internet
connectivity, isn't it?
Mr. CICILLINE. Absolutely.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, another thing we did in the past to
invest in ourselves was the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System. This
was something that the greatest generation did, Madam Speaker. They
came back from World War II--we just honored a World War II hero of the
Bataan Death March--but these folks came home from all of the
privations and sacrifices and suffering that they went through in the
war, and what did they do? They sacrificed more for us for the future,
what was then the future, what is now us. They sacrificed for us. They
built the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System.
What did it do? It greased the skids for American companies, enabled
companies to bring their products to market faster and more cheaply and
in a way that enabled them to compete with every other country in the
world.
This is the kind of investment that makes America win in competitions
all over the world.
You don't have to be an engineer to understand these things. You
don't have to be a mechanical engineer to know that this is exactly
what we need to be doing in the United States of America these days. It
was a wonder that it took until now.
Certainly, my entire time in Congress I have been waiting for a major
infrastructure bill to come through to beef up our roads and our
bridges; our water systems and our sewer systems; our broadband
internet; and move us into the next century to compete with China,
Europe, Russia, and all of the places that would do away with us if
they could beat us.
It was just yesterday afternoon that this bill, the bipartisan
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, was signed into law on the
south lawn of the White House. And who was sitting next to me in the
chair to my left, but Representative Paul Tonko of the 20th District of
New York, who happens to be a mechanical engineer, and he knows one or
two things about making things work; making them work better, more
efficiently, faster, and cheaper.
What does it mean to you, Representative Tonko, that we pass this
bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act?
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko).
Mr. TONKO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for leading us in
this discussion this evening.
So what does the infrastructure bill mean to my district, mean to me?
I think it is sharpening our competitive edge.
And when you are out there functioning in a global economy, we may
not be the only force out there as we were decades ago, and so
sharpening that pencil and making certain we cut costs, costs for
families, costs for production, and providing for resources that will
put the tools in the kit that are required for a 21st century economy
is what it is all about. We have back-burnered infrastructure for far
too long.
Having been here now, this is my 13th year in Congress,
infrastructure is not a Democratic or Republican idea. People have been
talking about it in both Chambers in both parties for a long time. And
every week in the last administration was infrastructure week.
But finally it took leadership.
President Biden, with his experience of almost four decades in the
Senate and serving as Vice President, knew about those relationships.
He knew that you had to negotiate across party lines, you had to
negotiate across House lines to make certain that working with his
administration and with his cabinet officials we would come up with a
blueprint for a sound economy. And that is exactly what happened here.
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Yesterday's bill signing was exciting. We were sitting together on
that south lawn.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. It was chilly.
Mr. TONKO. It was chilly and windy, so it felt even chillier than it
was. But what was so important to recognize and to consume was that
what you had here was a President who is in the likes of Abraham
Lincoln, who built an intercontinental rail system; President Teddy
Roosevelt, who set up a National Parks System; President Dwight
Eisenhower, who set up the Interstate Highway System. This person
stands as a giant when it comes to infrastructure now, someone who
brought us together; and it wasn't talk on and on, it was negotiations.
And finally now the first step in this process, the huge downpayment on
our infrastructure, is very vital.
So to me it is about competition, but it is also about hope,
providing a spirit of hope for working families in this country to know
that there is a bolder tomorrow.
I liken our country to the pioneer spirit. I think it is part of our
DNA. We showed again that there is spirit, spirit to embrace invention
and innovation as we are going through R&D dollars to develop more
efficiency and effectiveness with wind power.
We are going to invest in my State and across the 50 States in
infrastructure that ranges from roads and bridges to ports, making them
more secure, more equipped for the modern economy, making certain that
we are providing for a response to the transportation sector for
climate's sake.
This allows us to be better stewards in protecting our planet, making
certain the next generations that follow us will have a better world.
That is done by us making certain that in my State where there are
those nonattainment areas, in accordance with the Clean Air Act, they
will now clean up that air that they breathe; the water that they
drink; the soils that they can restore. That is part of an economic
response.
And as we restore some of those sites--many of them are in
communities of color, neighborhoods of Brown and Black people, who will
now prosper because they will remediate these soils and now go forward
with opportunities for work.
So this is about putting people to work. The jobs that will be part
of this will be tremendous. And it is just a green light to go forward
and really focus on our efforts as we travel forward to invest in those
dynamics that truly matter.
I look at my State, they are scheduled to receive approximately--we
are still working out the numbers--some $30 million to build our
airports into a stronger bit of infrastructure. Important in
international travel. Making certain that we invest in the Northeast
corridor with Amtrak. Our rail system requires, for safety sake and
ridership time, an investment. And so those dollars of some $66 billion
will be going towards Amtrak. $100 billion going toward roads and
bridges in this country. Making certain that we address one of the
issues very important to the subcommittee that I chair, the
Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, that reports to the
standing Committee on Energy and Commerce, that subcommittee under its
umbrella has the responsibilities of implementing the Safe Drinking
Water Act. And what we found is that we need to invest heavily in our
drinking water infrastructure.
Think of it, the spaghetti below our communities, below our feet, is
so critical in getting a commodity that is essential, sound, pristine
drinking water to industry, to homes, to schools. That begins and ends
with sound infrastructure.
And some of this infrastructure, Representative Cartwright, is dating
back to the days of Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House.
We are not content with our phones because they are outdated, and we
have had them 2 years. We are not content with our TV screen because it
is not large enough. We are tired of the miles on the car or the color
of it, so we get a new vehicle. But we are content to sit there with
100-year-old pipes that are providing an essential commodity for this
economy and for the safety of people in their homes and in schools.
So this is about investing $55 billion in lead pipe removal, which is
going to put a lot of pipefitters and plumbers into working situations
as they replace these pipes. No child, no family should be drinking
water that is lead infested. And for us to know that there are 10,000
pipes actively serving communities across this country, it is far past
time to respond to that replacement mechanism, which this bill does.
So, obviously, I am listening to the colloquy you have had with so
many of our colleagues tonight, and we can go on and on about the
benefits of this bill. There are tremendous benefits that put people to
work in union jobs so that they will be given a salary, a check, a
paycheck that is commensurate with the skill and the talent they bring
for all of us as Americans.
{time} 1700
And putting people to work, stronger stewardship of our planet, and
innovation concepts that will take us to the next economy of the 21st
century, these are all virtuous outcomes. And how 206 Members of this
House could vote against infrastructure when they talked about it, they
touted it for years. But they were okay to support a tax cut that went
to the 1 percent of wealth of this country and some of the largest
corporations in the world. But for the working families, for the middle
class community of this country, for those looking to ascend the middle
class, there was a ``no'' vote, while you could have made it so
competitive, sharpen that competitive edge, give us the skills and the
talents and the resources we need, making certain we go forward with a
sense of hope, a spirit of hope that we can do, that we can embrace
that pioneer spirit of this country.
Madam Speaker, the President yesterday said to the President of
China, I believe it was, when he asked him, What is America? How would
you define it?
Possibilities. Opportunity. Possibility. Pioneer spirit. All of that
comes together in one venue that is enabled by these bills that are
going to address infrastructure. And that bill signing yesterday for
that infrastructure bill, that was a powerful statement, a powerful
moment. One that says ``can do.'' Yes, America. We are back. We are
going to make certain that all of the good work that is done will
improve our economy, strengthen our economy, and provide for a
competitive edge that will keep us the strong economy in the world that
we ought to be.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. It is an afternoon we won't soon forget.
Mr. TONKO. Not at all.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Will the gentleman yield for a question?
Mr. TONKO. Absolutely.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Well now, of course, the press has noted with
interest that it took us weeks and months to sort out all the details
and finally get it to the White House for signature.
Here is my question: Contrast those weeks and months with how long
will this country benefit from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act? How long?
Mr. TONKO. Oh my gosh, this is generational. We haven't seen this
kind of investment in ages. So when we look back at that interstate
railroad system, we look back at the park system, we look back at the
interstate issues, these are infrastructure investments that are still
providing for us.
I look at some of the work that came under President Franklin
Roosevelt's administration and the infrastructure in my district,
phenomenal schools that are like fortresses that are part of the
cityscape, the landscape of any community that are still tremendous
bits of architecture that are serving a very useful purpose.
When we think about the Rural Electrification Act of about a century
ago, people are still prospering from that connection. As you called
it, the pockets that were unserved or underserved.
So this is going to be a lifetime and beyond for even the youngest of
our communities, as we celebrated yesterday.
We look at the broadband that is also part of this process, how can
you allow for communities to go unserved or underserved. This is about
children doing their homework. This is about cottage industry surviving
and growing. This is about security for those who live in remote rural
areas or in some poor neighborhoods. This is a connection with the
outside world. So the connection that
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comes with this via rail, via airports, via jobs, via infrastructure,
via water systems that will serve us well.
I remember being back in the beginning of my elected capacity in a
county government situation. We were much stronger in our response to
water. Today, we are at about 4\1/2\ percent of any project--4\1/2\
percent is contributed from the Federal Government. It is time to
change that.
And you know what, the message that I think is important also,
Representative Cartwright, is that these issues, these concerns, these
needs--and they are needs--don't go away. So either pay for them at a
Federal level where there are much more progressive opportunities to
create the revenues--and by the way, this is all paid for, which is a
great highlight--but we had those more progressive opportunities for
revenues rather than relying on a property tax as it percolates down
into the most local of levels and say, Okay, you need this water, dig
into the purse for the property tax. Unfair. Unacceptable.
So we are here now celebrating what can be a golden moment. It was
just great to gather together yesterday and see mayors of both parties,
see governors of both parties, see the cabinet officials, seeing union
labor, seeing the private sector, seeing the faith community, all
gathering together applauding and recognizing the leadership, the
profound leadership of President Biden, Vice President Harris, their
Cabinet, and certainly those who voted for the measure in the Senate
and in the House here in Washington.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Will the gentleman yield for another question?
Mr. TONKO. Sure.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. So we have all been seeing these images of 75, 80
cargo ships off the coast of California, Long Beach, Los Angeles,
waiting to get in because we are starting up our economy after the
pandemic was shut down. Obviously, it is not something we went to
school for--shutting down an American economy and starting it back up--
but that is what we are doing, and we are muddling through it. And
there are some painful price hikes here and there because of it--hard
to say how long they will go on.
But the one thing that struck me was all of those containerships
full, they told me that it takes 7,000 tractor-trailers to unload a
containership. That is 7,000 containers on a ship, and over 70 or 80
ships out there in the harbor. All of these manufactured goods coming
from China.
And it said to me, we read about the trade imbalance, we learn about
the trade imbalance, we learn that China is out-manufacturing us and we
are buying their goods. But, man, until you see those ships out in the
harbor offshore, it doesn't really hit home how much they are beating
us at manufacturing. What does this bill do to address that?
Mr. TONKO. Well, of course, we are modernizing our ports. We are
modernizing our roads and bridges. We are making certain that we have a
state-of-the-art grid for electricity sake so that as you integrate
renewables, and integrate distributed generation; you need that state-
of-the-art grid. So all of this investment, starting with the
modernization of the ports allows us to take this in.
You brought up a really good point. This pandemic rocked this economy
here in the U.S. and around the world in a way that we haven't seen in
over 100 years. And for us now to be experiencing this aftermath
shouldn't be a surprise. People are staying home not spending. They
didn't go shopping; they were afraid, as they should be. They were
warned not to go into stores and spread the virus.
So it rocked the economy. And so there was a supply that was
building, and the demand was way down. And now we are trying to steady
this out. This infrastructure issue will help us. We need to work
through this now to steady the economy because we saw spikes that
obviously aren't acceptable.
The President and his team will use this infrastructure measure and
other concepts to make certain we come back and steady the economy in a
way that will get us back to normal--that is so important to do--and to
be visionary.
I see that Representative Ross is going to join us from North
Carolina, and we have been working together--perhaps you have been
working with Representative Ross, too--on offshore wind. There is a
visionary piece. And there is a way for us to really build the energy
supply in a way that is going to put a lot of people to work.
So Representative Cartwright, thank you for leading us in this
discussion tonight.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. And I like the point about how shutting down for the
pandemic, it kind of taught us a lot of things about our own economy,
about the pockets of, for example, the gig workers nobody was thinking
about at the outset; we had to include them in the relief money. But,
man, when we saw these ships piling up offshore, it really brought home
to me really how we are being out-manufactured and we have to pick up
our game.
Investing in our infrastructure, what do you think? Is it going to
help?
Mr. TONKO. This bill is definitely going to address the supply-chain
concern. The pandemic was so instructive--supply chain, technology,
reliance on technology--making certain we learn these lessons; take
them to mind, take them to heart, and respond. And this administration
is about that.
A golden moment, a celebratory moment, once in a lifetime, once in a
generation, I am just proud to witness it. Proud to witness it and to
have cast a ``yes'' vote.
I thank all of my colleagues in the House that voted yes for
strengthening the muscle of the American economy and the American
worker.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. It is a victory for America that we will treasure and
favor for many years to come.
Mr. TONKO. No matter what political label you have at the end of the
day, we are all going to prosper.
When you see these headlines across the country, ``billions coming to
X State,'' and then the sidebar discussion: Entire delegation voted
``no.'' You explain it to the public.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Paul Tonko from
the 20th District of New York for his insights and also for helping me
introduce our next speaker, the dynamic Representative Ross from the
Second District of North Carolina, where innovation is second nature.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms.
Ross).
Ms. ROSS. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Cartwright for yielding
and for his leadership.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act that will bring America's aging infrastructure into the
21st century.
I was honored to join Madam Speaker and our other colleagues at the
White House as the President signed this historic legislation into law.
In Congress, I am extremely proud to represent Wake County, North
Carolina, one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. We
are a powerful economic engine for our State and for our region, but,
sadly, our infrastructure has not grown with our community. We need
seamless transportation networks to connect Wake County to the rest of
the Nation--modern infrastructure that can help us bring the innovation
that happens in the Research Triangle to the country and to the world.
This historic legislation will help us, our people, get to work and
school and products from our groundbreaking companies get to markets
across America and around the globe.
In North Carolina, there are about 1,500 bridges and more than 3,000
highways in poor condition. This bill will devote $110 billion to
upgrade roads and bridges and finance other major transportation
projects.
Over the next 20 years, North Carolina's drinking water
infrastructure will require billions in additional funding.
This bill provides funds to replace lead pipes in the country and
help ensure that all of our children can enjoy clean drinking water. It
will also address the toxic threat of PFAS contamination.
This bill modernizes our Nation's electric grid to protect against
storm damage and unlock the full potential of clean energy. It also
creates jobs in the clean energy manufacturing sector, a sector where
our State is positioned to lead the Nation.
In addition, it expands broadband connectivity in underserved
communities, helping to ensure that all of our
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students and businesses can access dependable, affordable internet.
The jobs created by this infrastructure package are jobs that cannot
be outsourced. This package will boost all of our workers, from the
folks who pave the roads to the scientists and engineers who are
designing 21st century transportation networks, more efficient water
and sewer systems, and cutting edge electrical grids.
Thanks to this package, engineering graduates from schools like North
Carolina State and graduates from Wake Tech, Shaw, and St.
Augustine's--all in my district--will help build the bridges in our
communities that one day many years from now they will proudly show
their grandchildren.
We are delivering on the President's promise to pass legislation that
improves the lives of ordinary people and creates good-paying jobs.
This bill is a testament to what we can achieve when we give
bipartisanship a chance, when we set our differences aside and commit
to the hard work of finding common ground.
This is good for North Carolina and great for the country.
{time} 1715
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, may I ask how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has 3
minutes remaining.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Costa).
Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, Congressman Cartwright,
for allowing me the opportunity to speak on the bipartisan
infrastructure package. The fact of the matter is, this is long
overdue.
We have been living off the investments our parents and our
grandparents made a generation or two ago. During most of the 20th
century, America led the world in investment in its water, in its
transportation, in its electrical grid, all the things that have made
us the great country that we are.
In recent decades, we have lagged behind. We now rank 13th in the
world in terms of the amount of investment that we make in American
people because investing in our water, in our transportation, in our
roads and bridges, in our internet system, that is investing in people.
That is investing in people who create jobs that make the economy
better.
As a result of the passage of this bipartisan infrastructure bill,
for the first time in a long time, America will lead the world next
year in investments in the future in our water, our transportation, our
electrical grid, and all the things that are a part of this piece of
legislation.
We can't just take our eye off the ball. We have to continue these
investments. In California, in the San Joaquin Valley that I represent,
these investments are going to be billions of dollars in our water
system. We have horrific droughts that we are experiencing right now.
With climate change and the other efforts in this legislation to deal
with the impacts of climate change, we need to ensure that we have a
sustainable water supply in California for our farms and farm
communities, as well as ensuring that we have clean drinking water for
rural areas that don't have it today. This legislation does just that.
This legislation also takes an opportunity to look at the other areas
that we need to do in the next piece of legislation: childcare for
millions of women who want to get back to work; and providing efforts
to improve our healthcare system, to fully fund the Affordable Care
Act, a promise we made 11 years ago.
My district had 25 percent uninsured. Eleven years later, only 10
percent of my district is uninsured. These are the kind of investments
we need to make in people.
I thank my colleagues for supporting this effort. Yesterday was a
wonderful afternoon with the President, with my colleagues, Republicans
and Democrats alike, to really celebrate the fact that we are beginning
to do what the American people sent us to do, which is get the job done
and invest in our country.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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