[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 122 (Thursday, July 2, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Infrastructure

  Mr. President, I also want to point out today that yesterday the 
Democrats in the House passed their 100-percent partisan version of a 
highway infrastructure bill. They co-opted a bipartisan issue, 
completely cut out Republicans--completely cut them out of the 
conversation.
  Not only that, but House Democrats added a laundry list of really 
leftwing proposals in what they passed yesterday in the House.
  In a sense, it is ``Groundhog's Day'' for the Green New Deal. This 
far-left fantasy has become a recurring nightmare, and we saw it 
yesterday on the floor of the House of Representatives.
  The Democrats must be taking their cue from Joe Biden. The Biden 
campaign is promoting the Green New Deal, as he said, a ``crucial 
framework.''
  Biden has put the Green New Deal author, Representative Alexandria 
Ocasio-Cortez, in charge of his climate task force. This is where the 
Democrats want to take the country.
  The truth is, Joe Biden has just now become the Trojan horse for the 
far, far left.
  House Democrats' partisan highway bill, to me, is a road to nowhere. 
It is going to see no light of day in the U.S. Senate.
  Infrastructure must be bipartisan, especially now. The House should 
follow the Senate's lead. Senate Republicans, in the majority, have 
worked across the aisle with our Democratic colleagues to make this 
serious issue into policy that is good for all of America, and our 
bipartisan bill is ready to go.
  America's Transportation Infrastructure Act passed the Senate 
Environment and Public Works Committee, the committee I chair, 
unanimously, 21 to 0. The landmark legislation will fix our Nation's 
roads, bridges, and tunnels.
  Now, we invest but $287 billion in our highways over 5 years. That is 
a 27-percent increase over current highway funding, and it is 
important. It is especially critical to our economic recovery today.
  We still have close to 20 million Americans out of work due to the 
coronavirus-related lockdowns. Jump-starting highway projects is going 
to speed the recovery, and it will help fuel job creation.
  Our bill benefits the entire country--both urban areas and rural 
areas. That is why we worked together in a bipartisan way. I will tell 
you, when I say it is overwhelmingly bipartisan, it is because we have 
both Bernie Sanders and President Trump supporting it. In fact, 
President Trump called on Congress to pass the Senate highway bill in 
his State of the Union Address.
  No question, it is the right medicine for our roads. It cuts redtape 
to speed up construction. It makes our roads safer, stronger, actually, 
as well, because of the reinforcement efforts, and it sends money 
directly to States so people can get back to work.
  Americans deserve a safe, reliable, efficient transportation system. 
So the Democrats in the House of Representatives need to get serious. 
Their 100-percent partisan bill is going nowhere.
  It does seem that the Democrats in the House are all about politics 
and nothing about progress--the progress we need to make as a country. 
They are over there pushing socialism, and right here we are pushing 
solutions.
  The country needs less grandstanding, and it needs more governing. So 
I am going to continue to work across the aisle. We will work with the 
administration and will not quit until our bipartisan highway 
infrastructure bill passes and becomes law. Together, we can rebuild 
America