[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 81 (Tuesday, May 11, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2424-S2426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Infrastructure

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I listened carefully to the statement by 
my friend from South Dakota about radical socialism--radical socialism. 
I think what he is categorizing as radical socialism is the suggestion 
by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, that we should really 
care about providing safe, affordable, quality daycare for women who 
want to go to work. Radical socialism?
  I am concerned about some trends that we are noting. The census 
reports that the birth rate in America is going down. Fewer children 
are being born in this country. I ask a basic question: What does that 
say about our country and about our future?
  What it tells me is that raising a family for many is a struggle. 
They have to work to bring money home, and they want to have the peace 
of mind when they go to work that their kids are safe. That is not a 
radical suggestion, and the solution isn't socialism.

[[Page S2425]]

  The solution is just caring. What do you care about? President Joe 
Biden does, and he has suggested, as part of his plan for American 
families, that the wage earners don't have more than 7 or 8 percent of 
their income dedicated to daycare. I don't think that is radical. I 
think it is realistic. It says they have some skin in the game, some 
investment on their own part, but they have affordable daycare 
affordable to them.
  Republicans say they are all about infrastructure. We want to build 
the best highways--I do, too--the best bridges and best airports and 
such so that Americans in business can move from one place to another. 
Sign me up. That is basic infrastructure, and I agree with it. But, if 
I have the best highway from my home to a good place of employment and 
still can't find affordable daycare, many people--especially women who 
are out of work--can't buy into this infrastructure investment. That is 
not radical. Socialism, to give a mother a helping hand so that she has 
a safe place to leave her child during the course of the day?
  And how about the other suggestions of President Biden? Is it radical 
socialism to suggest that we have available for all families in 
America--all families in America--2 additional years of training and 
education for children before kindergarten? I don't think it is 
radical.
  I have the best little granddaughter in the world, who is going to be 
2 years old in just a few days. She started her school experience 
already. We are proud of her, and I think it is going to help her to 
socialize with other children, learn in a classroom atmosphere, and I 
am glad she is there. I wish every family in the city of Chicago and 
the State of Illinois had the same option. But many cannot.
  President Biden thinks that is a good idea. So do I.
  Who would characterize that as radical socialism--2 additional years 
for children before kindergarten?
  Here is another thing he suggests. Let's have 2 additional years 
after the 12th grade. The President said 2 years of community college. 
Is that radical socialism, to expand the offering of education an 
additional 2 years? If you visit community colleges and see what is 
going on there, you realize that many young people are making really 
life-changing decisions about their careers and their future.
  Radical socialism? I don't think so. I think most families would say 
it is just common sense. It is not radical, and it is not socialism if 
government gives a helping hand. We have done that since the 1950s when 
it came to college loans. We do that today when it comes to helping 
school districts across this Nation. Not radical, not socialism, just 
common sense commitment to the American family.
  So they can make the speeches all they wish, but that is the reality.
  There has been an awful lot of talk on the Senate floor about 
infrastructure, as I mentioned. Many of my colleagues across the aisle 
think it is just roads and bridges and nothing more. I think that is a 
priority, but I don't think that is the entire challenge.

  When we consider infrastructure, we ought to look to the future. We 
should ask important challenging questions. What kind of infrastructure 
investment will help us for decades to come? What does the next-
generation economy in America need? What tools will our children and 
grandchildren need to lead healthy, productive, satisfying lives?
  Tough questions, but President Biden's American Jobs Plan and the 
American Families Plan face these questions honestly. Broadband, 
education, clean energy, paid family leave, electric vehicles, 
daycare--the President's plan envisions all of these things and more as 
the future of infrastructure.
  What does that future look like in practice? I had a visit last week 
which was amazing. I wanted to share just a little bit of my visit with 
you. Last Thursday, I visited a town in central Illinois called Normal. 
During my visit, I toured a new manufacturing plant, the Rivian plant, 
where production will begin in a few weeks on brand-new electric 
trucks, SUVs, and delivery vans. This is not a small-scale operation. 
Amazon has already placed an order for 100,000 emission-free delivery 
vans--100,000.
  Not long ago, 6 years ago, in fact, another car company, Mitsubishi, 
occupied a plant where Rivian is today, and they left town, putting 
1,000 people out of work in the process. We were pretty down on our 
luck at that point and despondent about the future of that facility. It 
sits out by Interstate 55.
  Guess what happened. A year later, thanks to the leadership of many 
people, including my friend the mayor of Normal, IL, Chris Koos, who 
found a buyer for the old Mitsubishi plant. By the end of 2021, that 
plant will be back in business full scale with more than 2,500 
employees producing the next generation of electric vehicles.
  It is a manufacturing jobs boom in Normal, IL. I couldn't be more 
excited or happy for the people who live nearby. It was made possible 
by leaders and investors who refused to hang on to the past. Here was 
this young CEO who decided that electric vehicles were our future. He 
came up with that idea 5 years ago, and he has created a large class of 
believers.
  Folks in this town will tell you infrastructure is about more than 
roads and bridges. For them it is about taking transportation in 
America to the next generation, and the President of the United States, 
Joe Biden, understands that.
  His American Jobs Plan includes a $174 billion investment in electric 
vehicles and charging stations. Is this some big radical socialist 
government idea? No. Listen to the major producers of automobiles in 
America today talk about where they think the market is headed. Every 
one of them is talking about electric vehicles. The funds that 
President Biden proposes would support the growth of companies like 
Rivian and accelerate the installation of charging stations across the 
country.
  I went from Normal, IL, to a multimodal facility--Amtrak, cars, 
buses. They all gathered downtown in a building which I helped to 
build. And we went to several levels of parking in this facility. At 
each level there were electric charging stations. That is the future.
  Imagine the future where you drive from Normal to Chicago or St. 
Louis, or anywhere in this country, without burning a drop of gasoline? 
This is the new normal, a place where hard-working Illinoisans produce 
next-generation vehicles, and companies come together with local 
leaders to move us toward a cleaner, stronger economy.
  Normal, IL, is stepping up to the plate to ensure the United States 
continues to lead in the global economy, even as competitors like China 
ramp up their own electric vehicle production.
  Make no mistake. If we follow the lead of the Republicans and step 
away from investing in electric vehicles and the training and the other 
elements that are necessary to develop it, the Chinese are not going to 
drop out of the competition. They are going to unfortunately be very 
successful at our expense.
  Normal isn't going it alone. All around my State, I am proud to say, 
we see efforts to create this electric vehicle future. Last week, 
Governor Pritzker and Lion Electric announced plans to open a new 
electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Joliet, IL--a $70 million 
investment that will create 700 new jobs.
  Beginning in 2022, the plant will produce 20,000 zero-emission 
medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. That means electric school buses and 
trucks built right in my home State.
  A Netherlands-based manufacturer of charging stations, EVBox, set up 
its U.S. headquarters in Libertyville, IL, this past summer. They have 
plans to produce more than 200 fast-charging stations a week.
  The electric transportation industry and its surrounding 
infrastructure already employs more than 5,000 people in my State of 
Illinois. One recent report projects that electric transportation 
employment in Illinois will grow to more than 9,500 workers by 2024. 
That is an 83-percent jump in 3 years.
  Illinois is poised to have a nationally important role in the 
development of electric vehicles. Why are the companies coming to 
Illinois? I have a theory. Illinois has been setting the stage for this 
electric vehicle revolution for years.
  Look at our labs--Federal labs. Scientists and engineers in our 
national

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labs have pushed the boundaries of vehicle and battery technology for 
decades, always looking ahead. Today, their pioneering work will 
produce batteries that will last longer, charge faster, and can be 
recycled safely.
  Look at our universities. The University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign produces some of the best engineers in America. In Normal, 
you can find Illinois State University and Heartland Community College, 
which produce a direct pipeline of new talent to companies like Rivian.
  Illinois recognizes that science and research are the backbone for 
the economy. Our labs and universities prove it time and again. This 
research drives the electric vehicle industry forward, and companies 
want to be right in the middle of that environment.
  Beyond batteries, Illinois leads the way in research in clean energy 
technology, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and many of the 
other technologies we need to be part of the economy of the 21st 
century.
  President Biden understands that we need research, too. His American 
Jobs Plan proposes $180 billion in investment in research and 
development for things just like electric vehicles. We have the 
opportunity to not only electrify but to supercharge our future.
  Federal funding that matches the President's bold plan could 
transform more towns like Normal or Joliet into powerhouses of American 
manufacturing.
  I listen to Republicans on the other side say: We shouldn't spend so 
much. We shouldn't spend it on so many things that might affect our 
future. Take it easy. Take it slow. Wait and see what happens.
  I couldn't disagree more.
  The Republican plan is a solid strategy for second place in the 
world. I don't want to be part of an effort to bring the United States 
second in any competition in the world. We may not always be first, but 
we should always strive to be first. Stepping away from President 
Biden's plan for manufacturing and jobs and families is, unfortunately, 
an easily predicted outcome. We will not be able to succeed and create 
the jobs of the future.
  I will continue to support robust, sustained funding for electric 
vehicle infrastructure and innovation. I hope that both parties will. I 
hope my colleagues will join me in thinking in a big way about the 
future of America when it comes to the economy and infrastructure. I 
have seen the future it can create in Normal, IL, last week, and it is 
a bright one.