[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING

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                        HON. BRENDA L. LAWRENCE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 20, 2015

  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, both sides of the aisle recognize the 
importance of our transportation network to remain globally competitive 
and to keep our roads, railways, and bridges safe. We all know that 
long-term projects are more cost effective and provide good-paying 
jobs.
  In Michigan's 14th District, we know the reality of driving on 
crumbling bridges and roads. The Federal Highway Administration says 
nearly 30 percent of our state's bridges are structurally deficient or 
functionally obsolete. What else needs to go wrong before we do what is 
right? We must have a long-term funding plan in place before this 
latest 60-day patch job ends.
  We have passed 32 short-term extensions in the past six years. This 
lack of long-term planning wastes money and resources. More 
importantly, it has cost lives. Lives that could have been saved or 
spared serious injury had we all taken this issue seriously. I do not 
want to attend one more funeral for the victim of a transportation 
disaster knowing that Congress failed to act on this problem.

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