[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 128 (Monday, July 29, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5135-S5136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Infrastructure
Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate Chairman
Barrasso and Ranking Member Carper on their introduction of the EPW
Committee's 5-year infrastructure bill, the America's highway
infrastructure act.
Back in Indiana, as a member of the State Legislature, in 2017 we did
what some States are doing and many haven't yet. We actually did a
long-term road funding and bridge infrastructure bill. As a Main Street
entrepreneur there in just my third year in the State Legislature, we
accomplished things that nobody said could get done, because we made
the case that for the crossroads of America, we needed to make sure our
roads and bridges were going to be there in safe shape for future
generations.
No matter where I go, I hear almost everyone unanimously wanting
better roads and bridges. Ironically, even in a State like the Hoosier
State, 70 percent of constituents wanted better roads but didn't want
their taxes to go up. We had to make the case--and it wasn't hard for
me to do as a fiscal conservative--that if you are in a State like
Indiana and your comparative advantage is the crossroads of America,
why wouldn't you want a tangible asset to be in good shape that
everyone can enjoy?
We also did it from a position of strength. We run a balanced budget,
generally with a surplus every year, and we passed a balance budget
amendment. So it was not difficult to talk about investing in the
future when you were doing it from a position of strength. In fact,
this last year, we had almost a $400 million surplus and a cash balance
of over $2 billion. Wouldn't it be nice if this place worked like that?
The bill introduced provides $287 billion to fix the Nation's aging
roads and bridges--more than any bill in history. It includes new
safety programs to incentivize States to lower fatalities of drivers
and pedestrians. It codifies key elements of President Trump's ``One
Federal Decision'' to cut redtape and to reduce the time that road
projects spend in the permitting line. It instructs Federal highways to
address resiliency, making sure that when a road is damaged by a
natural disaster, we rebuild it with modern technology that will
prevent similar damage in the future.
Most importantly, it contains incentives to urge States to put more
skin in the game, just like we did in Indiana, taking ownership of
their own infrastructure and making sure that in
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States where balance sheets are clean and economies are healthy, they
don't look to the Federal Government to lead on it and they lead
themselves.
This bill contains a proposal I introduced last week called the
Crossroads of America Act, to provide $150 million that will be
competitively awarded to States that will bid for the highest State
match for Federal dollars. This concept worked for us in Indiana. We
called it the Community Crossings Program, and within 1 or 2 years,
even after there was much complaining by cities and counties, it is
oversubscribed. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Indiana
communities started to bid up their matches and asking for less State
money through the program. Wouldn't it be nice if we had something like
that here to stretch the Federal dollar?
It means that the State could approve a greater number of projects,
which we have done now into the third year. More projects are being
built. More concrete is being poured. More steel is being framed. And
more Hoosiers are on the job. This is why this program is so important.
Combined, the America's highway infrastructure act will allow more
projects to break ground, like our I-69 bridge over the Ohio River,
linking northern Kentucky to southern Indiana. The EPW bill will speed
up the permitting process and provide funding opportunities to a
project that has been in the works for more than 15 years.
Over the next several weeks, we will continue our robust committee
work, starting with a markup of the chairman's bill tomorrow in EPW. In
committee, I will stress the importance of fully paying for this 5-year
bill--again, unlike we do most things here--and putting the highway
trust fund on a pathway to long-term solvency.
We are also going to be considering a budget bill, and for all the
reasons that we know, the Federal Government should be there for its
own citizens, its stakeholders, including infrastructure. We need to
make sure, regardless of what happens to this budget bill, that in the
long run we start balancing our own budget and that we quit borrowing
from future generations and kicking this stuff down the road.
Hopefully, this infrastructure bill will be the beginning of it.
Over 37 years of building a business in my hometown, one principle I
have always lived by is this: When times are good, you create a rainy
day fund, you pay back what you might have borrowed, and you sacrifice
in the short run for long-term prosperity. Until we get back into that
mentality here--whether its infrastructure, shoring up entitlements, or
whatever people depend on the Federal Government to do--we are not
going to be there for our own citizens.
Today, that changes with the introduction of America's highway
infrastructure act. We are beginning to put our Nation's highway system
on a path of long-term solvency. The alternative, I am afraid, is
another unfunded short-term reauthorization of the highway trust fund.
Such a path would be irresponsible, especially after the highway bill
comes out of committee this week.
We must continue investing in our Nation's infrastructure. We must
incentivize States to get more involved, and we must fully offset our
spending and put the highway trust fund on a responsible path to long-
term solvency. That is one of the critical obligations facing this
Congress.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate majority leader.
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