[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11966]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 INVEST IN THE NATION'S INFRASTRUCTURE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to our 
Nation's infrastructure. I am talking about our roads, our bridges, our 
rail corridors, our waterways and dams, the investments that over two 
centuries have made America great, the greatest economy in the world.
  We have a long history of investing in the infrastructure in America, 
starting with the canal and rail systems in the 19th century, the 
highways and air transportation systems in the 20th century. However, 
over the last 25 years, we have lived off the infrastructure 
investments our parents and grandparents made in the previous 
generations.
  Why? Because there has been a lack of political will here in 
Washington, D.C., to make new investments. But Congress, working with 
the President, must face this challenge head-on.
  I believe there is bipartisan support for infrastructure investment, 
having been part of a bipartisan conversation this year with Members of 
Congress and with the administration. There is an attempt to offer a 
proposal to make major investments in our Nation's infrastructure.
  We are talking about four different areas. First, there needs to be 
an incentive component. I strongly support incentivizing States and 
local governments to provide their own funding for these efforts. We 
know infrastructure projects move forward most effectively when local, 
State, and the Federal Government all do their part.
  In the San Joaquin Valley in my district, Merced, Madera, and Fresno 
Counties have all increased their local sales tax to pay for critical 
transportation projects. Earlier this year, California enacted a bill 
to increase State gas tax and vehicle fees to provide over $52 billion 
over the next 10 years in California for much-needed transportation 
projects. And while more needs to be done in California, we know that, 
if we provide incentives across the country, States ought to come up 
and do their part as well.
  The second focus of the administration's action is to support 
projects in rural areas. On Wednesday last week, the Agriculture 
Committee held a hearing in which we discussed strategic infrastructure 
investments in rural areas with a goal of increasing opportunities. The 
importance of investing in our rural areas cannot be overstated. Too 
often, rural America gets left behind in the infrastructure and 
development conversation. I know because I represent a large part of 
rural America in the San Joaquin Valley in California.
  The third focus is transformative projects, projects that make 
creative and dramatic changes. I have always supported and will 
continue to support these projects, such as high-speed rail in 
California, California WaterFix.

                              {time}  1030

  Water is so critical to the West, especially in the San Joaquin 
Valley. Water provides the food that we have on America's dinner table 
every night. It is a national security issue.
  These projects support deeper, systemic change, and they can have a 
large-scale and lasting impact on the future development of our Nation. 
They are investments in our future, like those our parents and 
grandparents made in the past.
  Lastly, the administration talks about a loan program. These can be 
helpful.
  Overall, I support these four components. But first we must not pick 
winners and losers when improving our Nation's infrastructure. This is, 
of course, very challenging. We need to have a policy that must rank 
priorities and decide how much we spend and where we spend.
  We also must establish criteria to ensure infrastructure decisions 
promote fair distribution and cost effectiveness, doing the most good 
in critical areas.
  Second, while I support public-private partnerships, they should not 
provide subsidies to projects that the private sector would already 
finance themselves.
  Sound infrastructure is literally and figuratively the foundation of 
our Nation's economy. It is what has made America the greatest economy 
in the world. Countries around the world are making investments in 
their infrastructure while the United States sits on the sidelines 
engaging in a political debate that does not reflect the reality of the 
policy choice we have and the decisions we must make.
  Mr. Speaker, we must come together as Democrats and Republicans to 
address these serious problems of our Nation's infrastructure, and as 
Americans in a bipartisan way because no transportation system, no 
water infrastructure system, no improvement in our energy grid, and all 
the other elements of our infrastructure are Democratic or Republican. 
They are the basis of an investment in America, and that is what we 
should be doing as Members of Congress with this administration.
  So let's act as legislators. Let's act and show that we can work 
together in a bipartisan fashion. Let's show some profiles in courage.

                          ____________________