[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4130]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    JOBS AND THE TRANSPORTATION BILL

  (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
bipartisan, Senate-passed highway transportation reauthorization bill, 
or MAP-21.
  We all know, in this global economy in which we now live, in order to 
truly be competitive we need to have a 21st century infrastructure to 
match a 21st century economy, but we're not there. Our Nation right 
now, of course, is facing a fragile economic recovery. Nowhere is that 
more apparent than in my home State of Rhode Island, which currently 
has an unemployment rate of 11 percent.
  MAP-21 will help rebuild America's economy on a stronger, more 
sustainable foundation. It will provide the financing for critical 
highway and transit projects, and it will support almost 2 million 
jobs--9,000 of them right in my home State of Rhode Island. The failure 
to pass a long-term transportation bill could result in additional job 
losses, threatening our economic recovery and countless families who 
are barely getting by as it is.
  The Senate has done its job. Now it is time for the House to do the 
same. Let's bring MAP-21 to a vote and move forward on the path to 
rebuilding our roads, our communities, and our economy.

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