Nita Lowey: “Earlier today, the Appropriations Committee voted to report the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill to…”

“Earlier today, the Appropriations Committee voted to report the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill to the full House. This bill makes an insufficient investment in our national transportation system in part because the Committee had to insert placeholder language for several important transportation provisions, notably the Federal highway system and transit programs, due to the lack of an agreement on long-term funding. The House Republicans' inability to work in a bipartisan manner to reach a compromise on surface transportation reauthorization conference committee negotiations is preventing us from fully investing in our Nation's transportation systems to put people back to work and grow our economy. For every $1 billion of infrastructure investment, we create at least 30,000 jobs and generate more than $6 billion worth of economic activity that reverberates throughout our economy, improving our national competitiveness and spurring job creation for years to come. With the national construction unemployment around 14 percent and upwards of 40 percent in my area in recent years, workers need and want to get back on the job. Despite being a priority for the Department of Transportation, the Tappan Zee Bridge Replacement project in my district is stalled because the current Federal financing pipeline is too small. I join Mr.…”