[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 7, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE BUILDING UNITED STATES INFRASTRUCTURE AND 
                   LEVERAGING DEVELOPMENT (BUILD) ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 7, 2019

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, today I introduced the Building United 
States Infrastructure and Leveraging Development (BUILD) Act. This 
bipartisan legislation will spur billions of dollars private investment 
in surface transportation and freight transfer facilities, while giving 
state and local governments an important instrument to improve their 
communities.
  Across all sectors of infrastructure, the United States faces a $2 
trillion gap between projected needs and projected funding. The sector 
with the largest gap is surface transportation, where the United States 
is projected to underfund our roads, bridges, and transit systems by 
$1.1 trillion by 2025. This is unacceptable. Americans are already 
paying for the cost of inaction through increased traffic, worse health 
outcomes, damage due to rough road conditions, and higher prices for 
household goods. Congress needs to use every tool at its disposal to 
deliver a better transportation system for the American people.
  This legislation builds on the success of surface transportation 
private activity bonds by increasing the federal volume cap by $5.8 
billion while clarifying that the use of the bonds must maintain robust 
labor protections. While public-private partnerships are not a panacea 
for solving all of our transportation challenges, they are an important 
piece of rebuilding and renewing America. I look forward to working 
with my colleagues in the House and Senate to enact this legislation as 
part of an infrastructure investment bill.

                          ____________________