[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.
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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.