“The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Investing in Our Nation’s Infrastructure Cannot Wait.”
On behalf of the
Each of you asked to serve on this committee because you recognize the incredible and important role our transportation network plays in creating and sustaining good paying jobs and facilitating the world's most advanced economy.
And, more often than not, this committee demonstrates to the American people that party affiliations in
Your willingness to work across those lines, which too often divide us as a country, was evident last year when you passed a long-term reauthorization of our nation's air transportation programs and when you continued the committee's tradition of funding our water resources projects. It was also evident three years ago when you passed a five-year reauthorization of our transit, highway, and rail programs.
These were not easy jobs. Nonetheless, many of you here today worked together to get them done.
Let me be clear, though: while these were all good pieces of legislation that included hard-fought provisions for America's working families, I am sad to say, they simply are not anywhere near enough.
They are not enough to meet the demands that we place on our transportation system today. They are certainly not enough to meet the demands that are going to be placed on it in ten years. And they are nowhere near what we need to leave a legacy for our children, the way our parents and grandparents did when they had the courage to build something as impossible-seeming as the interstate highway system and world-class urban and rural transit systems in every part of our country. Rail lines that connected
Yes, past generations built a system of transportation infrastructure that inspired a nation. But they did more than that. By demanding that working people have a voice on the job and earn living wages, our parents and grandparents helped define the American Dream. They created an economic system that allowed a middle class to grow and thrive by ensuring those who built this country and contributed to its economy enjoyed the protections and benefits of a strong union contract.
Sadly, today we are well past the point where we run the risk of letting those legacies quite literally crumble away.
We know that it hurts working families when the federal government fails to invest in infrastructure.
We know it hurts our economy.
We know that when the federal government fails to invest in infrastructure it leaves good union jobs on the table and delays the ability of goods and services to get to American manufacturers, business owners, and household consumers.
That is why, today, I want to take you past GDP indicators, past the report card scores, past the dizzying array of numbers any of us can point to, and instead, focus on the ways failing to invest in infrastructure takes a toll on working families. I am talking about the young adult who is ready and willing to work, but cannot find decent full-time employment. The single parent who burns the candle at both ends and is still barely able to scrape by. The office workers who want to spend more time with the people they love, but are held hostage by hours-long work commutes. The transit operators who, in city after city, wonder when, not if, backlogs of deferred maintenance will lead to another tragic incident. All because of our failure to invest.
The people I am describing are real people. They are the frontline transportation workers who want to operate and build a world-class system. They are the nurses, teachers, veterans, government employees, and business professionals who depend on a safe, efficient transportation network. They are your constituents back home. And the impacts they feel today are only going to get worse if we decide that current federal measures are simply good enough.
Take for example, an
Federal investment here could mean a safer, more reliable commute for the families of
Lack of reliable, affordable public transportation is not lost on business leaders, either. In
Down the road in
Underinvestment is harming Americans in small and large cities alike, and takes a particular toll on those who are already underserved in so many other areas of their lives. Take, for example,
Failing to invest in transportation infrastructure goes well beyond getting people to and from jobs that allow them to support their families. Just ask truck drivers at the
At our nation's airports, the situation is not much better. At LAX, the fourth busiest airport in the world, air traffic controllers regularly work overtime because of severe staffing shortages, raising concerns about fatigue, traffic volumes, and basic quality of life. Sadly, the issues found in the LAX control tower are just the tip of the iceberg. Across the aviation system, frontline workers, including those in other types of safety sensitive positions like systems specialists and transportation security agents, are increasingly required to do more with less because of America's failure to invest. In fact, air and ground congestion at major airports has been identified as the biggest economic threat to our aviation industry, yet inconsistent funding, sequestration, and government shutdowns have hobbled efforts designed to increase capacity.
We used to be a nation that was not afraid to dig deeper, build higher, or go faster. But today, we have turned a blind eye to projects that will make us better. By failing to tackle some of our nation's largest and most pressing needs, we are putting our country's entire economy on the line.
Consider the
At the Soo Locks in
Meanwhile, America's first truly high-speed rail project, which will lead to an estimated
This is what good enough looks like.
Our members stand ready, willing, and able to drive those buses in
And yet we sit here today, still trying to pay for a 21st Century transportation network on a 1993 budget. Still seemingly unwilling to make the difficult political choices that, frankly, we do not think are all that difficult.
The policy solutions are no great mystery.
We know that a user-fee supported system works when it generates enough revenue to meet our needs. But that is simply no longer happening with the
We have long supported efforts for a modest increase in the federal gas tax, which remains the most efficient and reliable means to raise revenue for our surface transportation network. Yes, an extra
We would also support any serious effort in this
We should take the
I should note that if we fix our
We know that jobs created by smart investments in transportation and infrastructure are good jobs that people can raise families on. In part, this is because of high union density is some of these sectors and in part because of the federal policies that have been associated with these investments. In particular, labor standards specific to construction and transportation have been included in past infrastructure investment statutes and together have resulted in a high-road labor model and ensured a skilled workforce is utilized. These standards and other employee protections should be expanded and applied to future investments considered by the Committee. In addition, Buy America rules should be aggressively applied to federal infrastructure programs so that we can grow our manufacturing base as we seek to reverse decades of under-investment. It would be a grave mistake for the health of our nation to use an infrastructure bill to attack these important laws or to undercut collective bargaining rights that are essential to the good jobs that can and should be created in this space.
Finally, we are here today to talk about our nation's infrastructure and what happens if we don't invest. But there is another piece of the puzzle that must be stated clearly and loudly: we have to stop shutting down the federal government. During the last shutdown - the longest in
By taking these steps today, we can leave behind a legacy better than crumbling roads and insufficient transit. Better than seaports that no longer compete with our neighbors to the north and to the south. Better than airports where we ask our workforce to do more with less every single day. Better than an economy where the ultra-wealthy only get richer at the expense of everyone else.
It is your turn in
We must not find ourselves back at this table in ten or thirty years asking what went wrong. Why nobody rose to meet the challenge. And so I challenge each of you and all of us to seize the opportunity before us.
With that, I am happy to answer any questions.
Read this original document at: https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Willis%20Testimony.pdf
Growing Pains: Economy Now Running Out Of Room
Rice Students to Reckon With Houston’s Affordable Housing Challenges
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News