Frank Pallone: “Let me initially associate myself with the comments made by Chairman DeFazio. There is no question that the bill that he…”

“Let me initially associate myself with the comments made by Chairman DeFazio. There is no question that the bill that he put together, the INVEST Act that passed the House, addresses the Nation's infrastructure needs in a much more significant way and addresses climate action in a much more significant way than the bill that is before us today. I do want to say that this bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, while it is an important step forward and it is a critical step, it won't get us there on its own. It has to be paired with the Build Back Better Act. Together, these two bills will produce major progress for the American people. But without the Build Back Better Act, we will not see the progress that is necessary to create jobs and create good-paying jobs to advance our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, I want to talk a little bit about the legislation before us and the issues that are within the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill before us provides funding to improve and repair our Nation's electric grid, which is in urgent need of modernization. It invests in hardening the electric grid against extreme weather events and gives the government new authority to spur the development of transmission projects and grid-enhancing technologies that are necessary to meet our climate goals. Our climate goals are immediate.…”