Paul Tonko: “Absolutely. Let me just respond to the absolute clear focus of our friend, the gentlewoman from Texas, and for the…”

“Absolutely. Let me just respond to the absolute clear focus of our friend, the gentlewoman from Texas, and for the strength of Texas. Representative Jackson Lee is constantly talking about the opportunities to make it in America, but she cited, also, the flood damage in my district, in the Mohawk Valley, the Schoharie Valley of upstate New York. Sometimes we will sit around and try to tout the effect of infrastructure for our job growth. There are different ways to express the economic development quotient related to infrastructure, the traditional roads and bridges, but then broadband and our grid system for our electric utilities, what role does it play? {time} 1950 Well, sometimes the best expression is done when that is taken from you. And when roads and bridges were washed away, we saw immediately what the effect was on the regional economy--and therefore the State economy--and then we're all connected one to another so that the national economy hurts through the ravages of flood waters that impacted this district, some would say with 500-year storm impact. What did that mean? It meant that you couldn't haul milk that was processed, produced on these farms; and you could not ship products being manufactured. It stopped the economic viability of a district and of a region. So it's important for us to look at those bridges that measure in deficient form. We need to make certain that we have state- of-the-art infrastructure and broadband.…”