[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1689]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    INVESTING IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE

  (Mr. QUIGLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, infrastructure investment is key to growing 
our economy and creating jobs which is why President Obama committed to 
a 40 percent increase in infrastructure funding in his budget released 
this week.
  Despite the fact that every billion dollars invested in 
infrastructure creates 30,000 jobs, over the past 50 years, our 
investment in infrastructure has shrunk by half. Meanwhile, China is 
investing four times as much as we do in transportation.
  We need these investments in Chicago where we have got a century-old 
transit system that needs updates to keep up with increased capacity. 
By the way, the Chicago Transit Authority carries more people in a 
month than Amtrak does in a year. We also need 1,000 miles of roads to 
be repaired, and 675 bridges are structurally deficient or functionally 
obsolete.
  Our crumbling infrastructure is slowing economic growth, and without 
serious long-term investments, we simply will not be able to compete in 
today's global economy.
  The President outlined his 21st century infrastructure plan this 
week. Now, it is time for Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work 
together on the long-term transportation bill the American people are 
asking for.

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