Paul Tonko: “I thank the gentleman for leading us in this discussion this evening. So what does the infrastructure bill mean to my…”

“I thank the gentleman for leading us in this discussion this evening. So what does the infrastructure bill mean to my district, mean to me? I think it is sharpening our competitive edge. And when you are out there functioning in a global economy, we may not be the only force out there as we were decades ago, and so sharpening that pencil and making certain we cut costs, costs for families, costs for production, and providing for resources that will put the tools in the kit that are required for a 21st century economy is what it is all about. We have back-burnered infrastructure for far too long. Having been here now, this is my 13th year in Congress, infrastructure is not a Democratic or Republican idea. People have been talking about it in both Chambers in both parties for a long time. And every week in the last administration was infrastructure week. But finally it took leadership. President Biden, with his experience of almost four decades in the Senate and serving as Vice President, knew about those relationships. He knew that you had to negotiate across party lines, you had to negotiate across House lines to make certain that working with his administration and with his cabinet officials we would come up with a blueprint for a sound economy. And that is exactly what happened here. Yesterday's bill signing was exciting. We were sitting together on that south lawn.”