[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 142 (Thursday, September 22, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     LONG-TERM INFRASTRUCTURE BILL

  (Ms. HAHN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HAHN. Madam Speaker, last week we passed a bill to extend funding 
for critical highway and transit infrastructure projects for 6 months. 
I don't think 6 months is long enough.
  We're told by businesses that they need certainty before they can 
invest, and the same is true for those businesses that would help us 
build an infrastructure that reflects the challenges of the 21st 
century. To give that certainty, we need to pass a long-term highway 
and transit funding bill now so we can create lasting jobs.
  In my home city of Los Angeles, we're already pursuing innovative 
measures like the 30/10, America Fast Forward initiative to get the 
infrastructure we need to stay competitive tomorrow built today. That 
initiative promises to create 160,000 jobs in my area alone. Just think 
of what that good program could do for our country as a whole.
  A long-term bill will put us one step closer to realizing that goal.
  Keeping our Nation competitive in the future requires vision and 
boldness in the present, and I urge my colleagues to pass a long-term 
surface transportation bill equal to the opportunity before us.

                          ____________________