[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 23398-23399]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        ENHANCING INFRASTRUCTURE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Metcalf) is recognized for 5 minutes.

  Mr. METCALF. Mr. Speaker, citizens chronically complain about the 
state of America's public capital, about the dilapidated school 
buildings, condemned highway bridges, contaminated water supplies, and 
other shortcomings of the public infrastructure. In addition to 
inflicting inconvenience and endangering health, the inadequacy of the 
public infrastructure adversely affects productivity and the growth of 
the economy. Public investment, private investment, and productivity 
are intimately linked.

  For more than two decades, Washington has retreated from public 
investment as costs of entitlements and of the interest payable on 
rapidly rising debt have mounted dramatically. State and local 
governments, albeit to a lesser extent, have also slowed investment. 
Their taxpayers became more frequently reluctant to approve bond issues 
to finance infrastructure. Whereas in the early 1970s, nondefense 
public investment accounted for 3.2 percent of the GDP, it now accounts 
for only 2.5 percent.

  Widespread neglect of maintenance has contributed substantially to 
the failure of the stock of public capital assets to keep pace with the 
Nation's needs.

                              {time}  1800

  For instance, the real nondefense public capital stock expanded in 
the past decades by a pace only half that set in the earlier postwar 
World War II period.

  Evidence of failures to maintain and improve infrastructure is seen 
every day in such problems as unsafe bridges, urban decay, dilapidated 
and overcrowded schools, and inadequate airports.

  The General Accounting Office study finds that education is seriously 
handicapped by deteriorating school buildings and that an investment of 
$110 billion is needed to bring them up to minimally accepted 
conditions. These problems take a toll in less visible and perhaps even 
more important ways, in unsatisfactory gains in private sector 
productivity, and a diminished rise in real income for the Nation at 
large, seemingly endless traffic jams, disruption to commuter rail 
service, and backed-up airport runways. And that is everyday 
experiences for Americans. They spell waste and inefficiency for the 
economy at large.

  Congestion on the Nation's highways alone cost the Nation some $100 
billion a year. Let me repeat that. Congestion on the Nation's highways 
alone cost the Nation some $100 billion a year according to a 
Competitiveness Policy Council estimate in 1993. And that was 1993. It 
does not include the cost of added pollution and wear and tear on the 
vehicles.

  That is the bad news. Now the good news. There is help on the way in 
the form of legislation directly targeted for infrastructure renewal. 
This legislation is designed to help the Nation

[[Page 23399]]

take a significant step toward overcoming its infrastructure deficit 
and promoting the productivity needed to meet the competitive 
challenges of the 21st century. The plan is fiscally sound. It follows 
the best accounting procedures of the private sector and is designed to 
recognize the statutes that mandate a balanced Federal budget.

  In salient ways it advances sound fiscal operation. The plan would 
provide $50 billion a year for mortgage loans to State and local 
governments for capital investments in types of projects specified by 
Congress and the President. These mortgage loans would be at zero 
interest. They would thereby cut the overall costs to local governments 
of the projects at least in half, depending on the prevailing interest 
rate for local and State taxpayers.

  The principals of these loans would be paid in annual installments. 
Repayment would depend upon the type of project, but no mortgage would 
be for a period of more than 30 years. The simple fact is that the 
Nation is falling behind. Infrastructure improvements will enhance our 
economy, provide new jobs, increase safety for citizens, and help us 
compete in the global marketplace. This bill is necessary now to begin 
to rebuild our vital infrastructure as soon as possible.

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