Highway and Transit Trust Fund Expires

Congressman Dan Kildee
Congressional Record: 114th Congress, 1st Session
July 7, 2015

(Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, at the end of this month, the highway and transit trust fund will expire, which would be devastating to our country's competitiveness and threaten 660,000 American jobs and thousands of projects to rebuild America's roads, rails, and bridges. We can't let this happen, not during the middle of the summer construction season for sure.

That is why Congress, Democrats and Republicans, really have to work together in a bipartisan fashion to pass a plan to invest in our Nation's infrastructure, our roads, our rails, and our bridges.

Right now, as a percentage of GDP, China is spending 10 times what we are on infrastructure. They are investing in their future.

Meanwhile, here at home, we can't even act to extend the highway trust fund, let alone adopt a 21st century plan that invests in our future, invests in America, and rebuilds this Nation in a way that puts people to work and makes us more competitive. How are we supposed to compete with China if we can't even rebuild our own roads and bridges?

We need to act together. Mr. Speaker, the time has long passed. Let's act today.