Opening statements, comments, or prepared statements of: Senator Shelby

When I hear that an infrastructure bank will not cost the taxpayers a dime, I wonder why Federal resources and guarantees are needed.

The only thing his policies have produced, in my opinion, is more Government, more debt, more regulation, and more unemployment.

How would you limit the exposure of the taxpayer to this?

The example Senator Kerry used of Fall River, Massachusetts, if they are going to do a water upgrade, some portion of that is going to be paid by the local ratepayers.

But anyway, if we did that, what would you envision, seriously, to leverage with 50? Could you leverage it 10 times or 5 times?

I believe we need to develop a comprehensive long-term approach to infrastructure investment.

I fear that the bank will simply be a new GSE or something like it and we will face another Fannie and Freddie-type entity that will cost the taxpayers money down the road.

I hope we have learned our lesson in that regard.

How do you remove politics from it?

Would they be liable for, either implicitly or explicitly, $400 billion or just for the $50 billion?

Americans are tired of the 'borrow now and pay later' mentality of this Administration and its allies in Congress, and they want it to end.