[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3932]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1210
     AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS REPORT CARD FOR AMERICA'S 
                             INFRASTRUCTURE

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, the American Society of Civil Engineers 
report card is out for the quality of America's infrastructure, and the 
results are a national disgrace and an embarrassment. America gets a D 
grade for the quality of its infrastructure.
  According to the World Economic Forum, we're 24th in infrastructure 
quality. In 2001, we were No. 2, and we also had a budgetary surplus.
  There are 69,000 structurally-deficient bridges in this Nation. Every 
second of every day, seven cars drive on a bridge that is structurally 
deficient; but the Republican budget plan that will be voted on this 
week cuts infrastructure spending by 32 percent per capita over the 
next 10 years.
  The United States Chamber of Commerce that represents the so-called 
job creators estimates that we will lose $336 billion in economic 
growth over the next 5 years.
  China spends 9 percent of its economy on infrastructure; Europe, 5 
percent; the United States less than 3 percent.
  Moreover, you just spent $89 billion rebuilding the roads and bridges 
of Afghanistan, and $69 billion rebuilding the roads and bridges of 
Iraq, and you propose to cut infrastructure spending per capita by 32 
percent.
  This is a national disgrace and embarrassment.

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