[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6794]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF NATIONAL PUBLIC WORKS WEEK

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                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 23, 2008

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I support the goals and ideals of 
National Public Works Week. National Public Works Week is celebrated 
for a full week each May to celebrate our public works professionals 
and the important work they do to keep our country running smoothly.
  May 18 through 24, 2008 will recognize the many duties that public 
works professionals--those who design, build, operate, maintain and 
protect transportation systems, water supply infrastructure, sewage and 
refuse disposal systems, public buildings, and other structures and 
facilities--perform to enhance communities and our Nation.
  Public works keep our society functioning: providing buildings that 
house vital government offices, and giving our country rail, highways, 
airports, and public transit to move goods and passengers.
  Similarly, public works help maintain public health: Providing 
systems for waste and sewage disposal, while supplying us with crucial 
water for our homes, businesses, and agriculture. Pipelines safely 
transport natural gas and hazardous liquids through 2,300,000 miles of 
pipelines throughout the country.
  Many people take for granted our public works, recognizing their 
importance only when problems are encountered. When water supply is not 
efficient, when infrastructure crumbles, and when accidents in moving 
transportation occur, we are then forced to reflect on what needs to be 
invested in the larger public works sector of our economy.
  The ``2006 Status of the Nation's Highways, Bridges, and Transit: 
Conditions and Performance'' report by the Department of Transportation 
confirms that investment in the Nation's highway, bridge, and transit 
infrastructure has not kept up with the growing demands of the system.
  Likewise, our country is in need of critical investment in water 
infrastructure. It was more than 1 year ago, at the beginning of the 
110th Congress, that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
passed three key water infrastructure bills: H.R. 569, the Water 
Quality Financing Act of 2007; H.R. 700, the Health Communities Water 
Supply Act of 2007; and H.R. 720, the Water Quality Financing Act of 
2007. These bills later overwhelmingly passed the House, and we 
continue to wait for our counterparts in the Senate to take similar 
action.
  I strongly support investment in our Nation's infrastructure, as well 
as the men and women who keep our public works, quite simply, working.

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