[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 102 (Monday, June 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2038-S2039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Investing in America

  Madam President, on an issue that you know so well, let me say this: 
Last week, the White House launched a new website, invest.gov. It shows 
the historic investments that have been announced across America since 
President Biden took office.
  We should not forget that under the previous President, there were 4 
years of promises and 4 years where they failed to produce. Under 
President Biden, we have a bipartisan infrastructure bill that is 
changing the face of America and preparing our economy for the 21st 
century.
  Invest.gov shows the historic investments that have been announced 
across America under President Biden and provides a State-by-State 
overview of those investments.

  In a little more than 2 years, Illinois, our State, has received more 
than $9 billion in infrastructure funding, more than $1 billion to 
support the creation of clean energy jobs, and we are creating 
thousands of new manufacturing jobs at this very moment.
  Today, I want to tell you about one particular project near and dear 
to us in Illinois. It is a project our leaders have been talking about 
for literally

[[Page S2039]]

six decades--since the time of the John F. Kennedy administration--and 
one that I hope we will be able to add to this Senate's long list of 
accomplishments. It is called the Southwest Connector, and it will be 
vital to my State's economy as well as that of the neighboring State of 
Missouri.
  I have requested congressional-directed spending to support this 
project in the next fiscal year. It will expand Illinois State highways 
127, 154, and 3 from two to four lanes and create a much-desired rural 
expressway between St. Louis and Southern Illinois.
  Madam President, I can remember when I was new to this business, and 
in the first campaign, working for a man named Paul Douglas, who was 
our Senator at the time, I went to Southern Illinois with him in the 
1960s, fresh out of college, and heard him tell the story about the 
valiant efforts that they made to build up Southern Illinois and to 
restore a broken economy. Part of that was involved in creating lakes 
and water supplies which still serve the region and are effective in 
our future view of where we must go as a nation and as a State.
  Now we need to do the same thing in transportation. Expanding these 
two-lane highways to four lanes will boost economic development in 
Southern Illinois and Missouri by creating jobs and enabling the 
regions to better compete.
  Several sections of the Connector's planned route rank in the top 5 
percent of the most dangerous two-lane highways in our State of 
Illinois. The Connector would improve traffic safety by separating 
lanes of traffic with a 50-foot median, and it would improve mobility 
for emergency vehicles and provide faster access to healthcare 
facilities. The project would also benefit the National Guard armories 
in Sparta and Murphysboro, whose activation has been particularly 
crucial during the floods in the region.
  When Congress passed the bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021--the 
largest investment in our infrastructure since President Eisenhower 
created the Interstate Highway System--it was proof that we could get 
big things done on behalf of the American people. We have a chance to 
do it again by moving forward on the Southwest Connector.
  I want to particularly thank the mayor of Murphysboro, Will Stephens, 
who visited both of our offices. He has been working hard to make the 
Connector a reality, despite the fact that the concept of the Connector 
really started years before he was born.
  There are countless local leaders across America like Mayor Stephens 
who are committed to improving our communities but who have been forced 
to wait on Washington to provide the funding. Let's not make them wait 
any longer. Congress needs to return to regular order in a timely 
manner to carry out the annual appropriations process and fulfill the 
authorizations in the bipartisan infrastructure law and to consider 
earmarks for community projects that have the opportunity to transform 
rural communities across America.
  As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I am committed to 
working with my colleagues under the bipartisan leadership of Chair 
Murray and Ranking Member Collins to pass our 12 annual appropriations 
bills on time.
  Madam President, I know this is near and dear to you as well as 
myself. To see this project move forward is going to change the face of 
Southern Illinois at a time when they need this infusion of economic 
activity and opportunity. I hope this project can be included in our 
projects that are authorized and appropriated in this year's bill. I 
will be working toward that goal.
  I yield the floor.