[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 67 (Monday, April 19, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H1893]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        VALUE OF INFRASTRUCTURE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, as the son of a civil 
engineer, I was raised with an understanding of the value of 
infrastructure that serves people and benefits communities. My 
commitment to infrastructure has spanned decades. As a young man, I put 
shovel to the road for the construction of highways and bridges; and 
now, today, I advocate for infrastructure improvements in Congress.
  As we know all too well in rural Pennsylvania, infrastructure has 
real-life consequences for communities. At its core, improving roads, 
bridges, and other key infrastructure should be a commonsense, 
bipartisan priority. Failing infrastructure does not discriminate. A 
broken bridge can harm Democrats just as it can harm Republicans.
  Unfortunately, the so-called infrastructure reform put forth by 
President Biden fails to take seriously the challenges that we are 
currently facing in Pennsylvania and around the entire country. In the 
rural district that I represent, we know the importance of true 
infrastructure. We need to make our roadways and bridges safer, we need 
to improve our transportation systems, and we desperately need to 
deploy reliable internet to those lacking access to broadband. This is 
what true infrastructure is. But, unfortunately, that is not the Biden 
plan.
  Let's look at the facts. In President Biden's infrastructure plan, 
less than 6 percent would go to roads and bridges; less than 2 percent 
would go to waterways, locks, dams, ports, and airports; and less than 
5 percent, unfortunately, would go to broadband.
  With $600 billion devoted to the Green New Deal, this has never been 
about infrastructure. In Pennsylvania, the extreme policies championed 
in the Biden plan will crush our vital manufacturing and energy 
industries. This plan prioritizes the progressive agenda over the needs 
of the American workers and small businesses.
  In the name of infrastructure, Democrats want to kill jobs, raise 
taxes, burden families, and stunt our recovery from the COVID-19 
pandemic.
  Today, I ask a very simple question: Is it worth it?
  As we seek to define infrastructure and consider improvements to our 
Nation's fundamental infrastructure needs, I urge all of my colleagues 
to dispense with the political games. We need roads, bridges, and 
reliable internet. We do not need the Green New Deal. Stop calling this 
infrastructure. Stop hiding progressive policies in trojan horses. Stop 
trying to trick the American people.
  While I stand ready to work with the President and House Democrats on 
what is true infrastructure reform, this plan is further evidence that 
the Biden-Harris administration are more happy to push their radical 
agenda at the expense of hardworking Americans.
  Instead of propelling these radical policies, this could be a good-
faith opportunity to deliver results for the American people. If we 
work together, we can get this job done. From deploying rural broadband 
to sustaining our basic roads, we must bridge this divide.

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