[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 28, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5469-H5470]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                AMERICA CAN'T AFFORD TO WAIT ANY LONGER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from

[[Page H5470]]

New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of passing the 
historic bipartisan infrastructure bill on Thursday.
  In August, all 220 House Democrats came here on the floor and voted 
to support opening debate and to vote on this once-in-a-century 
bipartisan infrastructure bill this week. Why? Because America simply 
can't afford to wait any longer.
  In New Jersey, our roads are the third worst in the Nation. One-third 
of our bridges are considered unsafe. Our transit has the worst on-time 
record in the country. Our train tunnel, which is critical between New 
York and New Jersey, 20 percent of the GDP runs through that corridor, 
yet the tunnel is 113 years old and literally crumbling. Moms and dads 
wait hours in delays to get home every night. It is affecting our 
businesses and our productivity.
  Hurricane Ida and climate change destroyed so many family homes in my 
community just weeks ago.
  The unfortunate reality is this: We just haven't made the investments 
we need in this country in infrastructure.
  China last year spent $3.7 trillion outside of China on 
infrastructure, and yet here we are year in and year out calling for 
infrastructure week and to get it done, and nothing happens. Now is our 
opportunity to get something done for our country.
  This historic bill, $1.2 trillion, will turn that around and put two 
million hardworking men and women of labor to work every year for the 
next decade. It will invest in electric vehicle infrastructure and the 
Gateway Tunnel, in rebuilding that. The tunnel I talked about that is 
crumbling, this is going to help fix it. It invests in roads and 
bridges and transit. Clean water to make sure that we get lead water 
out and forever chemicals out. It invests in broadband.
  After the Problem Solvers Caucus, which I proudly co-chair, worked 
for months with our Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle--and 
so many of us worked on it here in this House--50 Democrats and 19 
Republicans in the Senate voted for this bill. Everyone from Bernie 
Sanders to Joe Manchin to Mitch McConnell all voted for it and sent it 
to us early last month.
  It is critical to the rest of the country and to New Jersey that we 
get it done. Not only because it makes these historic investments but 
because it is about the country coming together, Democrats and 
Republicans, to show that we can govern.
  We need to get everyone on board this week, Democrats and 
Republicans, because this bill is simply too important for our country 
and our future. There is nothing partisan about fixing our roads and 
our bridges and tunnels. There is nothing partisan about investing in 
fighting climate change, which this bill does. There is nothing 
partisan about making sure that we have the resources we need for our 
economy to run and for people to get to work every day.
  I urge my colleagues, every one of them, to come to this Chamber 
Thursday and to vote for this critical legislation. I know that working 
together, our best days as a country will always be ahead of us here in 
the greatest country in the world. And infrastructure is the best place 
to start; for our President, for our country, and for all of us.

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