Chris Van Hollen: “I want to start by thanking some of our colleagues--Senators Rounds, Ernst, and Kelly--for cosponsoring the provisions…”

“I want to start by thanking some of our colleagues--Senators Rounds, Ernst, and Kelly--for cosponsoring the provisions of this amendment, and thank the chairman and ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senators Carper and Capito, for their support as well. I also want to acknowledge the good work of our House colleague, Congressman Steve Lynch, on championing this issue. So what is this amendment about? It is a commonsense amendment to ensure that as we work on a bipartisan basis to modernize our infrastructure for the 21st century, we also work together to ensure that new infrastructure projects that flow from this bill and others are financed securely. Most Federal projects are financed securely by law. Most require some kind of surety bond. That has been the case for almost 100 years in this country. But because of an odd and old loophole, public-private infrastructure partnerships, or P3 projects, often do not maintain the same level of protection that has been required for public infrastructure projects over time. That can spell disaster for subcontractors, for workers, for taxpayers, and for the success of projects that are not so secure. We know that contractor defaults can cause costly delays, waste taxpayer money, and leave residents and local stakeholders and project workers in the lurch.…”