[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14863]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                INVESTING IN THE NATION'S INFRASTRUCTURE

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, the Robert S. Pierson is a Canadian 
freighter full of wheat, trying to reach a Buffalo business. It's been 
stuck in the Buffalo River for 5 days because of a broken lift bridge, 
causing economic damage throughout the Great Lakes and its economy.
  For years, House Republicans have chosen policies of austerity, 
sequester, and now, shutdown. They have refused to invest in America, 
and, as the Pierson shows, this is catching up to us.
  In a recent interview, World Fuel Services Chairman Paul Stebbins 
decried our lack of investment in infrastructure, education, and 
research, saying:

       Europe has 10 years of disaster ahead of them. China's a 
     mess, financially. The U.S. could be blowing the doors off 
     it, but the worst enemy is us. This is self-imposed. So shame 
     on us.

  Indeed, shame on us. Shutting down the government and playing games 
with our credit is exactly the wrong thing to do. Now is the time for 
bold investment in rebuilding the Nation's infrastructure, not 
brinkmanship.

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