[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 24, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E81]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      EPS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. BRENDA L. LAWRENCE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 23, 2017

  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the EPS 
Improvement Act of 2017. Michigan is a success story for clean energy 
job growth. For many years, the press reported on Detroit's urban 
decline and the lights literally going out. While this may have been 
true in the past, Detroit has been making a comeback.
  After generations of urban flight, the population of Detroit is 
rising. Along with that growth has come revitalization. All across 
town, the lights are coming back on. The LED project cost $185 million 
and was paid for by the city and the state. The Public Lighting 
Authority of Detroit, also received support from the Obama 
Administration with Department of Energy advising local officials on 
how to brighten up the city.
  Investments by the Obama Administration in energy-efficient lighting 
has reduced costs across the industry, making LEDS feasible for a city 
like Detroit. Only three years ago, nearly half of the 88,000 
streetlights in the city were out of commission.
  This major infrastructure project in my city of Detroit, created not 
only smart urban design to an aging city, but it brought jobs. City 
officials told me that since 2014, using Federal Department of 
Transportation funding, Detroit has added buses, hired dozens of 
drivers and increased ridership by approximately 100,000 a week. Like 
the streetlights that are now on across the city, buses restore the 
fabric of the streets and re-establish a semblance of normalcy.
  Mr. Speaker, infrastructure projects like the LED project in Detroit 
and the transportation funding for buses are what we need to get 
America back to work. These funded projects have a ripple effect on the 
community and not only rejuvenate it but put people back to work.
  I support H.R. 518 and more projects that support clean energy 
growth.

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