[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 27, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S887-S889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ECONOMIC STIMULUS

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I also wish to discuss the precarious 
state of our United States economy, which is facing one of the most 
dire economic crises in history. As a member of the Senate 
Appropriations Committee, I understand that it is imperative that the 
Federal Government use all means at its disposal to address these 
problems.
  It is critical as we move forward that the Appropriations Committee 
and the Senate focus on spending our Nation's dollars on worthwhile 
projects, which both benefit the American people on their merits and 
will also lead to an increase in jobs.
  To this end, I wish to highlight a few projects in my home State of 
Pennsylvania which appear to have significant potential to stimulate 
economic investment, as well as return our unemployed workers to the 
workforce.
  The fastest way to put people to work on transportation 
infrastructure projects is to finance highway repairs. These repairs 
support construction jobs that can start immediately. Additionally, 
infrastructure repairs ensure an acceptable level of safety and 
reliability on existing highway networks, which is critical in a State 
like Pennsylvania that has 6,000 structurally-deficient bridges.
  According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, 
Pennsylvania could obligate $1.5 billion on 313 shovel-ready highway 
repair projects. These projects all focus on Pennsylvania's bridge 
deficiencies, pavement needs and safety concerns, as well as create 
jobs and achieve meaningful infrastructure improvements. Additionally, 
all of the highway infrastructure repairs can be put out to bid within 
6 months, with construction starting shortly thereafter.
  The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has also provided me 
with a list of 147 public transportation projects totaling $700 million 
that, according to transit agencies around the State, are ready to 
begin. The projects include replacing catenary pole involved in 
electrified train service, station improvements, alternative fuel bus 
purchases and intermodal centers.
  The Port of Pittsburgh Commission in Pennsylvania has identified over 
$580 million in shovel-ready project work that could be started in 6 
months, of which $430 million could be completed in 2 years and the 
remaining $150 million could be completed in 3 years.
  The largest share of that money would be applied to the Lower 
Monongahela Improvement Project for Locks and Dams 2-3-4, a project 5 
years behind the original completion date of 2004. Without investment 
from the economic stimulus, the project will not otherwise be completed 
until the 2019-2022 period. Stimulus funding could result in a working, 
reliable chamber, a major improvement over the current schedule. 
Funding can also be provided for emergency repairs to Emsworth Dam.
  These projects would add or preserve tens of thousands of high-
skilled, high-paying jobs for the southwest Pennsylvania region, 
including permanent employees at facilities that depend on river 
transportation, such as U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works, 
ArcelorMital's Coke Works, Eastman Materials, Welland Chemical, Kinder 
Morgan, Ashland Petroleum, Consol Energy and the Elrama Power Plant.
  Previous delays have resulted in increasing costs, interruptions to 
service and benefits foregone. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
calculates that the region has already lost over $1.2 billion in 
benefits that can never be recuperated.
  Health care is one of the largest drivers of our economy and a 
worthwhile investment in the physical and economic health of the 
country.
  In 2002, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Medical Education Development 
Consortium was formed to explore the feasibility of locating a new 
medical college in northeastern Pennsylvania. A 2006 feasibility study 
made the need for a medical school clear. This region of Pennsylvania 
has shortages of physicians in many specialties and over one-third of 
the practicing physicians are expected to retire in the next decade.
  To address this critical need, the Commonwealth Medical College is 
scheduled to open in 2009 and has already received investments of $35 
million from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program 
and $25 million from Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, as well 
as State, Federal, and private philanthropic sources.
  Additional funding will be used to support construction of the 
college, which will attract medical and biomedical research to 
northeastern Pennsylvania, improving the local and regional economy, as 
well as the health of the population. Over the next 20 years, the 
Commonwealth Medical College is expected to greatly increase the number 
of physicians in the area, add $70 million to the local economy and 
create 1,000 jobs.
  This project also has national implications, as the research 
conducted there will focus on healthcare conditions affecting the aging 
population, including research on cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
  There are numerous higher education projects throughout the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which exemplify the types of activities 
that this country should target as it searches for an effective means 
to stimulate the economy. These meritorious projects provide necessary 
infrastructure improvements to many colleges and universities in my 
home State, while at the same time creating a myriad of new jobs and 
stimulating the economy. It is my understanding that all of these 
projects are ready for construction within 6 months or sooner.
  Specifically, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, 
which represents 14 public universities in my home State, provided me 
with a list of 47 projects totaling $445 million. These programs focus 
on new building construction, renovations to existing buildings and 
energy conservation measures. The Pennsylvania Commission for Community 
Colleges, which represents the 14 community colleges throughout 
Pennsylvania, also provided me with a list of 34 projects totaling $128 
million. Selected projects include building renovation and 
construction, public safety programs, infrastructure repairs and 
upgrades, and new resources for education and training.
  In regard to the private colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, 
the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of 
Pennsylvania, which represents 86 private institutions, provided me 
with a list of 42 projects totaling $385 million. Many of these 
projects focus on the construction of new academic buildings, the 
renovation and expansion of training facilities and improvements to 
existing infrastructure.
  In many cities and small towns in Pennsylvania aging sewer pipes and 
treatment plants are malfunctioning, leading to sewage contamination of 
local freshwater. In many areas across Pennsylvania, and the country, 
water

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infrastructure is 50, 60 years old or much older.
  Throughout Pennsylvania the need for funding is great, because 
without it many of my constituents, a significant number of whom are 
retired and on a fixed income, are facing sewer rate increases of up to 
100 percent. An investment in water infrastructure is a wise one, as it 
will lead to construction jobs in areas where jobs are often hard to 
come by, while relieving a significant financial burden on residents.
  In western Pennsylvania, the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, 
which services communities in and around Pittsburgh, is assisting 
municipalities in that region seeking to meet clean water compliance 
standards. Currently, the Pittsburgh region is facing its largest and 
most costly public works project thus far, the rehabilitation and long-
term maintenance of 4,000 miles of sewers that serve nearly one million 
residents in the area. Additionally, in central Pennsylvania, the 
Borough of Philipsburg's outdated storm and wastewater collection 
system overflows during periods of heavy rain. The cost of modernizing 
this sewer system is significant, but it is necessary.
  While these are just two examples of water and sewer projects in 
Pennsylvania, an investment in wastewater infrastructure would create 
construction jobs, and ease the financial burden on the residents in 
many economically disadvantaged regions of Pennsylvania.
  The Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Remediation Grant 
Program provides funding for private developers to take real property 
business sites with environmental concerns and clean them up in order 
to redevelop. Redeveloping this land creates space for new businesses--
with new jobs--to expand in areas that might not otherwise be 
available. Pennsylvania alone has an estimated 150,000 acres of 
brownfields with great potential for re-use.
  Brownfields cleanups create jobs not only through the workers needed 
to do the cleanups themselves, but subsequently with the new businesses 
that occupy the property. I recently met with a developer in 
Pennsylvania who is prepared to immediately undertake cleanup projects 
totaling $283 million in my home State. Combined, his projects could 
create an estimated 322,225 new jobs in Pennsylvania.
  For every $1 invested into brownfields cleanups, an estimated $15-20 
are immediately returned to the economy in the form of job creation and 
State and Federal tax revenue. Jobs created by brownfields cleanups--
both before and after--are taken by locally available workers, 
stimulating local economies. This is exactly the result we should be 
requiring from every program in the stimulus package.
  These projects include cleanups in Bensalem, King of Prussia, Lehman 
Township, Bridgeport, Frazer, Norristown, Malvern, Limerick, 
Conshohocken, West Norriton, and Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. These are 
all areas in Pennsylvania that could certainly use targeted economic 
development. I understand that there is a question over how fast this 
money can be spent, and I agree that money from the stimulus be put to 
use as soon as possible after passage of the bill. However, the 
developers with whom I have spoken have all assured me that brownfields 
funding can be used within the 120 day benchmark to determine shovel-
ready projects. Programs, such as this one, should be the focus of the 
stimulus.
  I recently met with a group of Pennsylvania State Senators and 
Representatives who expressed their concern over cleanup efforts in the 
Chesapeake Bay Watershed, a large watershed which covers much of 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Cleanup efforts from agricultural 
runoff and other environmental impacts can be expensive. The Watershed 
Rehabilitation Program can mediate some of the enormous costs to 
individual landowners--often small business farmers--who are tasked 
with the cleanup of their own property.
  These cleanup efforts will require labor--stimulating the workforce 
while simultaneously making our environment a cleaner place for our 
children and grandchildren.
  Military construction projects funded through the stimulus must be 
identified as priorities by military leadership and be at or near 
design completion so that construction can be started in short order. 
These projects must help modernize our military support structure and 
defense capabilities. The following projects are both shovel-ready and 
of vital importance to the State, the military and the Nation.
  The End Item Shipping and Receiving Facility at Letterkenny Army 
Depot is a perfect example of a shovel ready project that will create 
construction work for Pennsylvanians and will enhance Letterkenny's 
capability to support the movement of military equipment. The 
identified site is on Federal land, close to utilities, next to rail 
and ground transportation and in the depot industrial area. Design is 
complete and Congress authorized $7.5 million for the facility in the 
John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for 2007--P.L. 109-365. 
Regrettably, this valuable project failed to move forward and 
additional funding is needed to complete the project at this time.
  Another vital military construction project is the Hermitage 
Readiness Center, in Hermitage, PA. When complete, the facility will 
support 128 Pennsylvania Army National Guard members who are currently 
housed in substandard and undersized buildings. This project is a high 
priority for the Pennsylvania Adjutant General, as land has been 
acquired and the design is 99 percent complete. I am told that 
construction could be started within 3 months, creating construction 
jobs almost immediately.
  A third military construction project is the Combined Surface 
Maintenance Shop at the Fort Indiantown Gap Vehicle Paint Prep Facility 
in Annville, PA. This facility will reduce hazardous waste associated 
with paint operations, create safer working conditions, increase 
productivity and reduce costs. I understand that land and environmental 
reviews are complete and the design is 75-percent complete, allowing 
for construction within 3 or 4 months, were funds to be made available.
  Vital funding in the economic stimulus bill will allow us to improve 
the care we provide to our veterans. According to the Pennsylvania 
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, necessary improvements to 
the Southeastern Veterans' Center in Spring City, PA, could commence 
with $17 million in Federal funding. A new long term health care 
facility would replace the ten substandard modular units currently on 
the premises of the Southeastern Veterans' Center. This proposed 
project will include the construction, furnishing and equipping of a 
multi-story facility with the capacity to provide skilled nursing care 
and dementia care for 120 residents. Further, this project will provide 
appropriate housing for the veterans and will enable the Southeastern 
Veterans' Center to entirely vacate the substandard modular units, 
while reducing costly maintenance.
  In addition to major construction projects, I understand that 
Pennsylvania has nearly $119 million in non-recurring maintenance and 
minor construction projects that are needed and could be completed in 
Fiscal Year 2009 were funds made available at this time. The importance 
of these smaller projects should not be ignored, as many of them hold 
the potential to impact positively the lives of our veterans in short 
order.
  Providing funds in the economic stimulus package for construction and 
maintenance projects at national parks could have a stimulating affect 
on the economy and put people to work. Among the projects in 
Pennsylvania that could benefit from economic stimulus funding is the 
Flight 93 National Memorial, which will honor the 40 passengers and 
crewmembers of United Airlines Flight 93 who gave their lives to save 
countless others on September 11, 2001. I have worked with members of 
the Pennsylvania delegation to secure funding for this most important 
project in the annual appropriations bills. However, it is my 
understanding that an additional $6.2 million is required for the first 
phase of construction to commence.
  Additionally, according to the Congressional Research Service, recent 
estimates suggest that the National Park Service has a deferred 
maintenance backlog of almost $10 billion. Deferred maintenance 
projects often include important construction work on buildings, 
trails, recreation sites and other

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infrastructure within the parks. For example, according to Gettysburg 
National Military Park officials, the current maintenance backlog at 
the park would cost $55 million to complete. In addition, there are 
deferred maintenance projects at Valley Forge National Historical Park, 
Independence National Historical Park and the Delaware Water Gap 
National Recreation Area Park, among others.
  Funding these projects will not only put people to work, but will go 
a long way to support the ongoing efforts to preserve, protect and 
enhance our country's most precious and historically significant 
national treasures.
  In conclusion, while I would like to hear further from the 
administration and other economic experts to give us guidance on 
addressing the current economic crisis, the projects which I have 
outlined in Pennsylvania are the kind of expenditures that will provide 
the most realistic opportunity to stimulate the economy.

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