Political Quotes

“I am here on the floor of the Senate this evening to talk about our shared national priorities for addressing the Nation's infrastructure needs and my concerns--really deep concerns--about the plan the Biden administration has outlined and specifically the way they intend to pay for it. I don't think there is a single Member in this Chamber who does not recognize the need for us to invest in upgrading America's aging infrastructure. Our network of roads, bridges, ports, railroads, and more has played an integral role over the decades in growing our world-class economy. Yet, according to a 2019 report, the most recent one we have from the World Economic Forum, the United States now ranks only 13th in the world in infrastructure based on factors like the quality of our roads, how efficient our trains are, and access to electricity and water. So we can and should do more to improve our infrastructure, particularly as competitors like China make substantial investments in their own infrastructure every year. We can do so in a bipartisan way, just as we have always done. In fact, last Congress, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved bipartisan infrastructure legislation by a unanimous vote of 21 to 0. That was just last Congress, 21 to 0. This bipartisan approach last Congress totaled $287 billion--a substantial amount and one we have yet to figure out how to pay for.…”