[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8215-S8216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

  Mr. President, now on infrastructure, yesterday, our country took a 
major step forward to prepare our economy for the challenges of the 
21st century.
  As we all know, the American people have been told for years--for 
years--that another infrastructure bill was coming, one infrastructure 
week after another. But, after yesterday, we can now tell the American 
people that an infrastructure law is here. The President signed it 
yesterday.
  The enactment of bipartisan infrastructure legislation is so long 
overdue. There isn't a community in America that doesn't have some 
glaring need. Crumbling roads; dilapidated schools; untrustworthy 
bridges; overburdened airports, seaports, and railways--the new 
infrastructure law will tackle these challenges head-on.
  I thank the President and my colleagues from both sides of the 
aisle--both sides of the aisle--for making yesterday possible.
  The President's infrastructure bill can be summarized with a four-
letter word: J-o-b-s. Jobs, jobs, jobs--more local jobs, more good-
paying jobs, more union jobs. Unions, as we know, have been a ladder up 
through the decades, and they will continue to be under this bill, as 
there will be more of them.
  And the jobs will put people to work on projects in every State and 
every community. In New York, my State, dependent on good 
transportation, major undertakings like Gateway, the Cross Bronx 
Expressway, the Second Avenue Subway, I-81 in Syracuse, and the north 
inner loop in Rochester. The list could go on and on and on. All of 
them will finally get going again. We have a great chance of that 
happening after years of paralysis.
  And the Federal dollars that the government is sending to the States 
is already having an effect in my State. Yesterday, our Governor 
announced that, because of the Federal dollars, there won't be fare 
increases or cutbacks in services on the MTA and the commuter rail. 
That is really good news.
  Well, what is happening in New York holds true in every other State 
in the Nation. Major projects that have been long awaited have a real 
good possibility of getting going. So there is great news, and jobs, 
jobs, jobs will rain down on every State.
  So there is much to celebrate with yesterday's signing, and in the 
weeks and months and years to come, the American people will see the 
benefits with their own eyes. So I want to

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thank President Biden for finally delivering on something that previous 
administrations have tried to do but have been unable to complete.