James Oberstar: “This is an essential investment. This is an investment. There are a lot of things we do around here where we are…”

“This is an essential investment. This is an investment. There are a lot of things we do around here where we are spending money. We do not see a real product, but in this case it is an investment in the future of our country. As the chairman said, it has to do with our economic competitiveness. We are concerned about the economy and the need to put people back to work and competitiveness in our businesses. This is about just-in-time delivery. We cannot have just-in-time delivery when we have to divert a truck for 2 or 300 miles because of a failing weight-limited bridge, as exists all over the country; and a number of bridges are in that condition on Interstate 5 in my State. It is about livability. It is about dealing with congestion, management, movement of people; and it is also about jobs, and that is a very important part of this debate that we cannot leave out. The difference between the number being asked at the White House and the number put forward by the chairman, supported by, I believe, every other member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, figures out to about 1 million jobs a year over 6 years.”