[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 19, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H2551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NEW INFRASTRUCTURE AGENDA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Georgia (Ms. Bordeaux) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BOURDEAUX. Madam Speaker, like so many of us in this Chamber, I 
spend a lot of time on the road driving from event to event.
  As someone who represents the metro Atlanta area, I have spent far 
more hours than I care to admit sitting on I-85 in bumper-to-bumper 
traffic. My staff have all had the experience of being on the phone 
with me as I pull off the road and try to find a spot with a strong 
signal in order to call into events because there is just no way I will 
make it in time with all the traffic.
  Congestion is one of the issues we all hear about with frequency. It 
is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. It is a question I get 
frequently, regardless of whether I am at a townhall, speaking to a 
Chamber of Commerce, or visiting a small business: What is being done 
to ease congestion?
  This question is particularly important as we continue to have a 
national conversation on infrastructure. Having spent my career in 
public policy and public finance, I know how important it is that we 
make smart investments today to set us up for success tomorrow.
  That is why recently I rolled out my infrastructure agenda. I call it 
FutureFit The Suburbs.
  FutureFit The Suburbs is a vision to address our growing needs in the 
suburbs to make smart investments now to prepare for the next century, 
from preparing for the impact of climate change to building the transit 
system of tomorrow.
  This agenda focuses on the needs of fast-growing suburbs, recognizing 
the need for transit and congestion relief in order to maintain 
economic viability while addressing the climate crisis, and doing all 
of it in a way that leverages public-private partnerships in a fiscally 
responsible manner.
  The key is to do well by doing good. This initial launch of FutureFit 
The Suburbs contains four initiatives.
  First, I am proud to be introducing a new piece of bipartisan 
legislation today, the Build Up the Suburbs Act, along with Congressman 
Carlos Gimenez from Florida, and my Georgia colleague, Congresswoman 
Lucy McBath.
  Imagine a regional bus rapid transit system that would run along our 
major highways and express lanes, developing an electric bus equivalent 
of commuter rail to help people get from suburban hubs to major 
commercial hubs while skipping the traffic. The Build Up the Suburbs 
Act would fund exactly that.
  The next time you need to go to the airport, wouldn't it be easier if 
you didn't have to budget in an extra hour or two just to get there?
  Tomorrow, I will be introducing the National and Regional Greenways 
Act to provide funding for the construction and expansion of greenways 
across the country, corridors of land connecting disparate communities 
with beautiful recreational space and environmentally friendly travel 
routes, thereby reducing congestion and emissions.
  This program would support projects like the visionary Chattahoochee 
River Greenway, a proposed multiuse path that would run along the 
Chattahoochee River in Georgia.
  Beyond immediate transit priorities, FutureFit The Suburbs focuses on 
how we can be smart in leveraging the power of public-private 
partnerships to maximize available resources. For example, as more and 
more shopping goes online, retail malls, and the large plots of land 
that they sit on, are going unoccupied and unused, taking up valuable 
real estate. Through low-interest and guaranteed loan programs, these 
areas can be restored in a way that serves the community.
  Finally, creating a national infrastructure bank would provide 
Federal seed money to leverage significant private sector investment in 
major infrastructure projects. Private investment is on the sidelines 
and looking to invest in our roads, bridges, broadband, and electric 
charging infrastructure.
  Change is coming, whether we like it or not. We can make smart 
investments now that enhance our quality of life, or we can spend a lot 
more time, money, and effort retrofitting the same projects years down 
the road.
  By investing now, we can help slow the effects of climate change, 
create jobs, and position the suburbs for success in the years to come.

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