Celia Israel: “I think lectures need to be fact-based and not faith-based. This bill addresses two of the great challenges we have in…”

“I think lectures need to be fact-based and not faith-based. This bill addresses two of the great challenges we have in the United States. We have an aging, deficient infrastructure, and we have millions of people who still need jobs. And this bill addresses both. Infrastructure: 153,000 bridges in the United States have been rated functionally obsolete or deficient; 162,000 miles of Federal highway have been rated unacceptable. Traffic delays are costing America's small businesses and the American people $78 billion every year. Just in New York City, aviation delays cost our local economy $1.8 billion. The American Society of Civil Engineers does an annual report card on infrastructure and routinely gives grades of C, D, and F to transportation systems, broadband, and our ports. Meanwhile, Mr. Chair, in China, they're going to build 97 new airports over the next 12 years; in Spain, they're going to make a $150 billion investment in high-speed rail; in India, 276 port projects, $12 billion investment to double port capacity.”