Cord Byrd: “if you had a company, let us say, and you would like to buy a brand-spanking new fleet of trucks, all outfitted in…”

“if you had a company, let us say, and you would like to buy a brand-spanking new fleet of trucks, all outfitted in bright red paint and chrome, how would you like to put that fleet of new trucks out on roads that are filled with potholes and on bridges in need of repairs? How would you like to have your trucks detour 18 miles around a bridge which was closed because it was unsafe? How much would that cost? How much would that lower your productivity? How much would that cut into your profits? You probably would be reluctant to invest in the new trucks at all. Hence, public investment encourages private investment and is conducive to the profit making of the private sector. A sound economy will require continued capital investment in our Nation's physical plant that not only replaces existing infrastructure but also expands capacity to accommodate growth. Reducing the Federal budget deficit on the back of critical capital investments will only undermine our national prosperity, productivity, and competitiveness. And those chickens are going to come home to roost one day, one day. Nobody talks about infrastructure anymore. People are going to wake up one morning and say, ``Where have you been? Where were you?'' That was the first question that the Lord asked in the book of Genesis when He came into the garden looking for Adam: ``Where art thou?'' And our constituents are going to say, ``Where were you?…”