Donald M. Payne: “First, let me thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. Esty) for allowing me this time to engage the American people…”

“First, let me thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. Esty) for allowing me this time to engage the American people in a subject that is crucial to the economy of this Nation and for the citizens that use transportation throughout this country. I think Mr. Garamendi really gave us the bang in terms of looking at the rail situation. That is an area that I also am going to speak on. Let me say that, with every day that passes, the need for Federal infrastructure investment grows more and more urgent. Robust and reliable infrastructure is the foundation for economic success and security. But for too long, the United States has underinvested in our infrastructure, and this once vibrant foundation has crumbled. Yesterday, in my district, I took a visit with Amtrak to the 107- year-old Portal Bridge that carries about 450 trains and thousands of passengers over the Hackensack River in New Jersey every weekday. It is a major bottleneck along the Northeast corridor, the Nation's busiest rail line. This rail line goes through New Jersey--well, actually, it starts here in Washington and will travel to Boston. So it travels through Connecticut as well. But we have a major bottleneck in New Jersey. This old infrastructure, this 107-year-old bridge, is really outdated machinery because this bridge over the river has to spin on a turret when there are barges coming through. Normally it gets stuck.…”