Sen. Bob Graham: “I rise today to introduce a bill to speed up Federal construction projects. My bill is similar to a Florida State law…”

“I rise today to introduce a bill to speed up Federal construction projects. My bill is similar to a Florida State law which speeds up funding for State construction projects. The purpose was to accelerate the progress of getting capital outlay projects started. According to William Scaringe, the director of the Florida division of building construction, the Florida law has been very ``effective and the State likes it.'' Mr. Scaringe said that during the first 3 to 4 years under the Florida law, projects would bunch up that agencies wanted to get bid. Now Mr. Scaringe says the State has no problem with the mandated deadlines. The State has the controls in place so projects get funded and the funds don't sit waiting for a project. My bill is very similar to the State of Florida's law. Under my bill, a Federal project would lose its funding unless work begins within 2 years of the Federal appropriation. The goal is to speed up construction, to create jobs, and to use Federal dollars more efficiently. We should not leave Federal money sitting around and gathering dust when it could be used for worthwhile projects.”