“I’m looking forward to passing a long-term multi-year highway bill that provides certainty, that improves the infrastructure of our country, and most importantly, creates jobs.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today took to the Senate floor to press for the need to pass a multi-year highway bill that provides Montana and the nation with the certainty needed to make long-term infrastructure investments.
Daines made the following remarks on the Senate floor this morning:
“What we need is to support a long-term highway bill. It creates construction jobs, it creates union jobs – that’s what sitting on the table right now and going to be debated this week in the United States Senate.
“These new jobs that are created by increased access and infrastructure capacity are being left unrealized. Specifically in these times of constrained funding, it’s critical to allow our states to have the flexibility to direct funds to their top needs and the most effective projects.
“The bill we are now debating will create a multi-year highway authorization and provide time to plan important long-term projects around the country and provide three years of guaranteed funding for the Highway Trust Fund.
“I’m an engineer by degree. In fact, I’m the only chemical engineer that serves in Congress. When you’re in engineering, you take a look at the problem and you need to find a solution. When you’re an engineer, you lay out project plans.
“We need to put certainty in place so that we can plan to improve the infrastructure of this country, to rebuild our highways, rebuild our bridges that are so much in need of repair at the moment.
“If we pass a multi-year highway bill, it will reverse Congress’s trend of short-term, Band-Aid, temporary fixes to fund the nation’s transportation network.
“Across the country and Montana these patches have left states and localities without the certainty they need to plan and build long-term infrastructure projects. In the Senate Commerce Committee, I’ve been working to ensure we have some of these needed reforms, and I want to thank Senator John Thune for his efforts in leading the Committee. I look forward to a robust amendment process and debate on this much-needed legislation.
“The bottom line, I’m looking forward to passing a long-term multi-year highway bill that provides certainty, that improves the infrastructure of our country, and most importantly, creates jobs.”
Click here to download Daines’ remarks.
Click here to watch Daines’ remarks.
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