[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 31699]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 THE REBUILDING AND RENEWING OF AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, this morning's New York Times had a 
column by John Harwood, entitled: Obama's Potential Quandary--Creating 
Jobs or Reducing the Deficit, which analyzed what is potentially a 
dilemma, but it doesn't have to be that way.
  The rebuilding and renewing of America should be one issue that 
actually brings us together, where there are solutions that are clear 
and complementary in terms of creating jobs, protecting the environment 
and reducing the budget deficit.
  We have serious needs all across America for water and transportation 
investments in every single community. There are estimates that up to 
20 million Americans every year are sick needlessly from waterborne 
illness because of failures in water systems. There are millions of 
hours and billions of dollars that are wasted as Americans and American 
businesses are stuck in traffic. There are tens of thousands of unsafe 
bridges. There are transit systems in desperate need of repair and 
revitalization.
  What America needs, first and foremost, is a vision of investing in 
renewing and rebuilding America in this century. The plans for 
infrastructure for this century are available. As someone who has 
labored in this field for years, working around the country, I know 
that the vision is ready to be incorporated into the reauthorization of 
the Surface Transportation Act or in new water trust fund legislation, 
and it can be done not in years or in months but in a matter of weeks. 
This work is ready.
  Next, we must commit to extracting more value out of existing and 
future investments. Luckily, here, too, reform is in the works. I have 
been deeply impressed with the work of Secretary Ray LaHood of 
Transportation, of Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan and of EPA 
administrator Lisa Jackson, where the Federal Government is in the 
process of creating a new partnership with our communities, businesses 
and families in terms of how the Federal Government does business and 
invests that money.
  But even with bold vision and with more value being extracted, we 
actually are going to need to invest more money. The Chinese, for 
instance, are investing about nine times as much as the United States 
in their infrastructure needs. We are losing the race for global 
competitiveness while we see conditions deteriorating at home. The 
Society of Civil Engineers has graded American infrastructure at a D, 
and suggests that it requires at least $2.2 trillion in the next 5 
years to bring things up to standard.
  If we act now, there are, in fact, areas of broad support for more 
investment--from business, local government and the American people--if 
this increased money goes to rebuild and renew our country.
  There is a danger that our current direction will not be as effective 
as it could be. I am heartened that there appears to be a consensus 
that we will be spending, perhaps, $50 billion or more in new 
infrastructure investment, but if this money is simply going to flow 
through existing channels with an imperative that it be spent as 
quickly as possible, it is not going to have as much long-term impact 
as it would if we were to do it right.
  Doing it right means a reauthorization of the 6-year Transportation 
bill with a national purpose and reform specified. It means the 
creation of a water trust fund to give money where it is needed. It is 
the reenactment of the Superfund tax so that polluters actually pay to 
clean up dangerous areas that are found in every single State. It would 
create tens of thousands of jobs while it would reduce environmental 
threats.
  There are many contentious, complex and partisan issues that, 
understandably, divide Congress and the American people, but renewing 
and rebuilding America is not one of them. Done right, it will be 
deficit-neutral with a bold vision to revitalize the economy while 
strengthening our communities and protecting the planet. I hope we all 
start the new year with a commitment to invest in livable communities 
where our families are safer, healthier and more economically secure.

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