[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 27 (Monday, February 12, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today President Trump will put forward 
his budget request for the next fiscal year. I look forward to 
reviewing the President's priorities. With a bipartisan funding 
agreement now in place, Congress and the White House can work together 
to begin rebuilding our military, improve care for veterans, and tackle 
other urgent matters, from disaster relief to the fight against drug 
addiction.
  I especially appreciate the President's focus on improving America's 
infrastructure. The quality of our country's infrastructure affects 
everything from our long-term economic future to working Americans' 
everyday routines. As of 2016, nearly 1 in 10 bridges in our Nation is 
structurally deficient. The average commuter loses 42 hours per year to 
delays. The average age of our inland waterway locks and dams is over 
50 years old. We are intimately familiar with this in Kentucky, where 
we ship millions of tons of coal, agricultural products, and other 
cargo on more than 1,900 miles of inland waterways.
  The problem runs deeper than dollars and cents. American workers 
built skyscrapers in less time than our government now spends 
reviewing--not even building but reviewing--plans for new bridges and 
stretches of highways. So I am particularly happy that the President is 
proposing to eliminate regulatory barriers and streamline lengthy and 
overcomplicated permitting processes.
  Historically, infrastructure has been an area of bipartisan 
cooperation. Our last three highway bills passed with large bipartisan 
majorities, averaging more than 80 ``yes'' votes. So did our last three 
WRDA bills and our last three FAA bills. I hope we can build on this 
record and make more bipartisan progress on this subject.

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