6-Year Highway Bill

Senator Barbara Boxer
Congressional Record: 114th Congress
July 9, 2015

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, next week I hear Senator McConnell may be coming forward with a highway bill. I pray it is a 6-year bill. Republicans and Democrats voted one out of the EPW Committee--I am proud to say not one dissenting vote--a 6-year robust bill.

I hope we will fund it in a way that doesn't cut other jobs, while we are trying to create jobs in the transportation industry, but in fact looks at international tax reform, where we can actually help our businesses and have a tax system that is reformed. The funds that come in to us go to the highway trust fund so we can take care of those bridges that are falling done and insufficient--60,000 of them--the highways that need help, and the roads, 50 percent of which are in disrepair. We need help.

Our businesses need that help. They call for that help. They are the concrete people, the granite people. They are the general contractors, they are the engineers, our workers, and the construction workers. We still have 200,000 of them out of work since the great recession.

We need a 6-year highway bill. We need it now. We need it funded in a smart way that helps our economy keep on growing. So there is a lot of work ahead.

I wish to take this opportunity to say thank you to Senator Alexander and Senator Murray--and a hopeful request to Senator McConnell that the bill that comes to the floor on the highways is one which we can all embrace, and we can take care of this great Nation because, I will tell you, there isn't a great nation on Earth that doesn't have an infrastructure to match.

You have to move goods, you have to move people, and if you can't do that, we simply can't keep up in this global economy.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.