Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, for generations, this country's infrastructure served as the backbone for our economic success. We dreamed big, we built bigger, and our economy flourished; but today our infrastructure is crumbling, and the growth of our economy is slow. Without serious long-term investments in our transportation infrastructure, we simply will not be able to compete in today's global economy. Over the past 50 years, as a share of our economy, our investment in transportation has shrunk by half. Europe now invests twice as much as we do in transportation. China invests four times as much. Over time, America has fallen into 19th place when it comes to the quality of our infrastructure. Nowhere is this more apparent than in my hometown of Chicago, where 1,000 miles of road in the city of Chicago are in need of total reconstruction. 675 bridges in Cook County are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. North Lake Shore Drive is one of the highest accident locations in the State as a result of its aging infrastructure. The CTA is a century-old transit system that desperately needs updates to keep up with increased capacity. Oh, by the way, the CTA in Chicago in 1 month carries more passengers than Amtrak does in an entire year. All of these things will cost money, but the long-term economic benefits they will provide will far outweigh the upfront cost. The President likes to say that first-class infrastructure attracts first- class jobs, and he is right.…”