[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 12017]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       OUR FAILING INFRASTRUCTURE

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, Republicans talk a lot about the need for 
the Federal Government to provide businesses with certainty so they can 
plan for the future. I agree with them. So why do they continue to 
block a long-range plan to fix our crumbling roads and bridges?
  Across the country, one of every nine bridges is structurally 
deficient, and the American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave 
our national infrastructure a grade of D-plus. In my district alone, 
129 bridges have been deemed functionally obsolete, and 65 are 
structurally deficient. Every American who drives a car, rides a train, 
or crosses a bridge knows we need to act.
  Our national infrastructure was once the envy of the world. In a lot 
of communities today, it is an embarrassment. A strong, long-term 
investment in infrastructure provides States, cities, and businesses 
the certainty they need for the future. It will keep Americans safe and 
help commerce move more efficiently, and it will put tens of thousands 
of workers back on the job.
  Madam Speaker, we should take this opportunity to create jobs and 
certainty for a change and enact a multiyear transportation bill.

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