[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 84 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-19. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the 
     State of Washington respectfully urging the United States 
     Congress to pass and the President of the United States to 
     sign H.R. 3339 or similar legislation; to the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

                     Senate Joint Memorial No. 8001

       Whereas, The American society of civil engineers in its 
     2021 infrastructure report card rated the current state of 
     infrastructure in the United States at C-minus and indicated 
     that $6. l trillion would be needed to restore the nation's 
     infrastructure to a state of good repair; and
       Whereas, The American society of civil engineers stated 
     that newer projects and over $2.62 trillion worth of 
     corrective projects are currently unfunded, and the remaining 
     projects are not adequately funded; and
       Whereas, Congress took step forward in 2021 passing the 
     Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act, providing $1.2 
     trillion in transportation investments, but it does not come 
     close to meeting the current need reported by the American 
     society of civil engineers; and
       Whereas, The American society of civil engineers' Seattle, 
     Tacoma-Olympia, and Inland Empire sections in 2019 rated the 
     current state of infrastructure in Washington at C, with 
     drinking water, roads, transit, stormwater, and wastewater 
     receiving a rating of C-minus or worse; and
       Whereas, Washington's cities, counties, ports, and business 
     associations in a 2019 report identified more than $222 
     billion in infrastructure needs throughout Washington 
     including highways, bridges, freight rail, ports, airports, 
     rural broadband, and energy; and
       Whereas, Washington needs financing capacity to build 21st 
     Century infrastructure, including high-speed rail, renewable 
     energy conversion, public housing, and other projects, but 
     many new and visionary projects will not be able to secure 
     funding through traditional commercial investment banking 
     processes and will remain unfunded; and
       Whereas, A new national infrastructure bank could directly 
     aid in fostering an economic recovery and build necessary 
     infrastructure projects; and
       Whereas, U.S. Representative Danny Davis on May 19, 2021, 
     introduced legislation in Congress, H.R. 3339, to establish a 
     new $5 trillion national infrastructure bank authorized to 
     invest solely in infrastructure projects; and
       Whereas, The new national infrastructure bank is modeled on 
     four previous institutions created, respectively, by 
     Presidents George Washington, John Qunicy Adams, Abraham 
     Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, which helped spur massive 
     economic growth; and
       Whereas, The new national infrastructure bank would be 
     funded through a repurposing of existing treasury debt, as 
     was done previously in the United States, and would require 
     no new federal spending; and
       Whereas, The new national infrastructure bank could 
     directly finance much of our nations's infrastructure, in 
     partnership with state and local officials, and lead to the 
     reemployment of people who have lost their jobs during the 
     COVID-19 pandemic; and
       Whereas, The new national infrastructure bank will 
     supplement, not supplant, the good work of the Infrastructure 
     Improvement and Jobs Act and allow us to fully invest in our 
     future while creating an estimated 25 million new jobs paying 
     Davis-Bacon wages; and
       Whereas, The new national infrastructure bank would ensure 
     project labor agreements for all projects and buy American 
     provisions also while awarding a significant number of 
     contracts to disadvantaged business enterprises and mandating 
     large-scale minority hiring; and
       Whereas, The new national infrastructure bank is expected 
     to grow the economy by four to five percent each year; and
       Whereas, Some 14 state legislatures and numerous county and 
     city governments have introduced or passed resolutions in 
     support of the new national infrastructure bank, and it has 
     been endorsed by organizations including the national 
     association of counties, the U.S. high-speed rail 
     association, the national Latino farmers and ranchers, the 
     national congress of black women, the national federation of 
     federal employees, the public banking institute, the American 
     sustainable business council, the national association of 
     minority contractors, and many others;
       Now, Therefore, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that 
     Congress pass and the President sign H.R. 3339 or similar 
     legislation.
       Be it Resolved, That copies of this Memorial be immediately 
     transmitted to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President 
     of the United States, the President of the United States 
     Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each 
     member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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