[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 71 (Monday, April 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2186-S2187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           American Jobs Plan

  Madam President, last week, a few of my Republican colleagues 
introduced their counterproposal to President Biden's American Jobs 
Plan. The senior Senator from Mississippi called the proposal a ``good-
faith effort.'' He wishes to engage with Democrats on an issue that 
touches every community in America on a subject we all know--
infrastructure.
  I think I speak for the entire Democratic caucus in welcoming this 
effort from our friends across the aisle. As I mentioned earlier, when 
it came to the American Rescue Plan for vaccines and vaccinations and 
cash support for families and help for small businesses and schools, 
not a single Republican would join us. It is time for us to come 
together and work on a bipartisan basis. Maybe this is a start.
  After all, infrastructure is what should unite us. Whether you live 
in Laurel, MS, or the Lake View section of Chicago, our roads, bridges, 
and our fiber-optic networks keep us connected and keep us moving.
  As we emerge from this pandemic, it is clear that Americans are ready 
to get to work building a stronger country, a healthier country, and a 
more prosperous country. Sadly, though, the proposal from my Republican 
friends really fails to meet the once-in-a-generation opportunity test 
to transform America and make America a winner in the 21st century.
  At a time when millions of Americans lack access to reliable, 
efficient transportation and millions more lack access to reliable 
high-speed internet, we can't settle for just repaving old roads or 
filling potholes. We need to invest in this Nation's future and put 
people back to work building a sustainable economic foundation for our 
children and grandchildren to grow and thrive. We need an 
infrastructure plan that is a blueprint for the world of tomorrow, not 
just a patchwork quilt focused on yesterday.
  The way I see it, we are on the cusp of a world where America owns 
the clean energy economy and exports our union-made electric trucks and 
cars across the globe. Where workers can get to work easily by bus, 
train, or bike and working parents don't have to worry about finding a 
safe and affordable place to leave their kids when they are working. A 
world where, rather than reading about the Mesozoic Era in an outdated 
textbook, a child can throw on a virtual reality headset in the home or 
classroom and watch in awe as a T. rex swings its massive tail over 
their head. A world in which America makes and sells the new 
technologies of the sustainable economy to the world rather than buying 
them.
  That is a future powered by the infrastructure of tomorrow. Under the 
American Jobs Plan, it is a future made in America. But we need to 
start building it today because, if we don't, I guarantee you somebody 
else will.
  My friends, take a look across the ocean. Do we really believe that 
China, for example, is skimping on investing in its future? Absolutely 
not. They are already using technologies like artificial intelligence 
to ease traffic congestion in cities. They are installing facial 
recognition systems on their streets to keep tabs on jaywalkers and, 
sadly, tabs on ethnic minorities like Uighurs.

[[Page S2187]]

  That is the difference between us and China. In China, the Communist 
Party uses technology to broaden the scope of its surveillance state. 
In America, we have an opportunity to show the world that technology 
and innovation can actually strengthen democracy by giving people the 
freedom to work the way they want with universal broadband and to move 
around the way they want with new forms of transportation.
  The President's American Jobs Plan will give our kids an honest shot 
to thrive by eliminating lead pipes and service lines from our drinking 
water systems and making safe, affordable housing a reality for 
millions of working families.
  I can't help but acknowledge my colleague Senator Tammy Duckworth 
when it comes to clean water and new lead pipes and service lines for 
our drinking water systems. I am proud of the initiative and leadership 
that she has shown, working with other Members of the Senate, to make 
this a reality.
  This is a unifying vision for the future. It is a model for global 
leadership. So let's not balk at the cost of making it a reality. This 
is not the time to think small. We are talking about a transformative 
undertaking, and that is part of what America has always been about.
  More than half a century ago, Republican President Dwight Eisenhower 
launched the Interstate Highway System. It changed America. Today, the 
program's nearly 50,000 miles of expressway carry about one-fourth of 
all traffic in the United States. These roads connect our communities, 
have created communities, and serve as a bedrock for our economy.
  In today's numbers, if you tried to rebuild the Interstate Highway 
System, it would cost half a trillion dollars--probably much more, to 
be honest. It is not a small sum. But, boy, it is an investment that 
paid off. The program generated $6 in economic activity for every 
dollar spent to build those roads and highways.
  And the fact is, today we need to invest in order to build our 
future. When President Eisenhower launched the Interstate Highway 
Program, we didn't have e-commerce or same-day shipments. It was more 
than 10 years before Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon. Now, each 
of us carries around a pocket-sized device with more than enough 
computing power to get him to the Moon and back.
  The world has changed--in many ways, for the better. Today, it is not 
sufficient for an infrastructure plan to begin and end with bridges and 
roads. If we want to support a modern economy and sustain growth for 
generations to come, we need to invest in the infrastructure for 
tomorrow.
  This isn't to say that we have all the answers on this side of the 
aisle. But there is one answer we should all get behind: Go big; go 
bold. We can't penny-pinch America into first place.
  And don't take it from me: Americans of all political stripes--
Democrats, Independents, and Republicans--support marshaling the 
resources of the Federal Government to go big and bold on 
infrastructure. They want us to not only repair our highways and 
bridges but to rebuild our waterways and airports and make high-speed 
broadband internet available to everyone.
  Americans support a plan that puts us on track to have an American 
century in the 21st century. That is our plan, and victory is within 
our reach.
  There was an architect and designer in the city of Chicago in the 
transition from the 19th to the 20th century who helped design the 
Columbian Exposition, ``White City,'' and a lot of history was made 
with those decisions. His name was Daniel Burnham. When he was asked 
about planning something like the White City, the Columbian Exposition, 
in the city of Chicago, he had a quote that you will turn to almost 
every day if you follow what is going on in planning in Chicago. Here 
is what he said: ``Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir 
men's blood''--and I might add, women--``They have no magic to stir 
men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized.''
  They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not 
themselves be realized. I think we understand that.
  As President Eisenhower gave America a vision with the Interstate 
Highway System, a connected nation and a new America, we need to do the 
same. President Biden has challenged us to do it. We need to do it on a 
bipartisan basis. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make 
it a reality.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.