[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 136 (Sunday, August 1, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5235-S5236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               H.R. 3684

  Ms. SINEMA. Mr. President, it is my honor and privilege this evening 
to join with my fellow 9 Senators of the G-10 who have been working 
together for months now, along with an additional 12 colleagues, who 
together--the 22 of us Senators--have worked long and hard with each 
other and with the White House to introduce this evening the bipartisan 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
  We know that this has been a long and sometimes difficult process, 
but we are proud this evening to announce this legislation, and we look 
forward, very much, to working with our colleagues in a collaborative 
and open way over the coming days to work

[[Page S5236]]

through this historic investment in infrastructure in our country and 
to come to agreement in the U.S. Senate to move forward with this 
historic piece of legislation.
  Now, I know that many of my colleagues will talk about some of the 
virtues of the legislation and the great things that it will do for the 
States that we all are proud to represent, the States that all of us 
Senators represent across this country. But what I would like to direct 
my brief remarks to this evening are not the details of this 
legislative text--though they are significant, and I think they are 
very meaningful and will have an impact on the daily lives of 
Americans. What I would like to speak about is the very process.
  I know it has been difficult, and I know it has been long, and what I 
am proud to say is that is what our forefathers intended when they 
created a system of government that required Republicans and Democrats 
to come together in a coequal branch of government and work with each 
other and with the administration to find legislation and solutions 
that meet the needs of our country, individuals, and families, 
companies, communities. It is difficult; it is time consuming; and it 
is exactly what our country insisted and demands of us every single 
day: to take the time to work with each other to find common ground, to 
compromise, and to be willing to work with each other--to give a 
little, to get a little--in order to achieve what is right and what is 
best for the American people.
  I think the process we are embarking on this evening, as we soon will 
join together with our colleagues of both political parties, 
representing every State across the country, is an important one, and 
it sends a message to the individuals across this country and, indeed, 
to individuals across this world that the U.S. Government can work. It 
is difficult; it is time consuming; it can be hard; but this very 
process of finding bipartisan compromise and working together to 
overcome obstacles to achieve the objectives that the American people 
are depending upon us to do is the very heart and the very core of why 
each of us serves in this government, and I, for one--in addition to 
being tired, I, for one, am incredibly proud of this process. It is why 
I ran for office, and I believe it is why we have all run for office: 
to work together to overcome differences, to find solutions, and to 
make a difference in the lives of the American people.
  As we will see in the coming days, as we hear from our colleagues on 
both sides of the aisle, offering amendments and adjustments to this 
legislation, and, ultimately, I believe, passing this legislation out 
of the Senate, with a strong bipartisan record, we will continue to 
once again demonstrate to our country and to the world that we can, 
indeed, do our jobs; that we can legislate; that we can work together; 
and that we can put aside our own political differences for the greater 
good of our country.
  I thank the Presiding Officer.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio

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