Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I rise today to speak on the bill before the Senate--the Rebuild America Jobs Act. The Rebuild America Jobs Act contains…”

“I rise today to speak on the bill before the Senate--the Rebuild America Jobs Act. The Rebuild America Jobs Act contains a variation of a bill that I cosponsored with Senator Kerry--we call it the BUILD Act. It is the Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for Long-Term Development Act, and so we call it BUILD. But the changes that have been made in the bill that is before us today are untenable, and I cannot support it. Last March, I introduced the bipartisan BUILD Act along with Senators Kerry, Warner, and Graham. It puts forward a method of addressing our infrastructure needs that I think is the right way forward. The need and demand for greater infrastructure investment is unprecedented. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that a $2.2 trillion investment is needed over the next 5 years to restore our infrastructure to an adequate condition. Ignoring these needs hampers our economic growth, impedes the flow of inter- and intrastate commerce, and slows the development and distribution of domestic energy production. We should consider new, innovative ways of financing our infrastructure. Traditional government mechanisms alone cannot keep pace with our national demand. Our legislation--Senator Kerry's and mine--creates the American Infrastructure Financing Authority. This would be an independent authority designed to facilitate private investment in critical infrastructure projects.…”