Due to the massive Republican tax cut that was enacted in May, the bill received an unrealistically low allocation by the House leadership, leaving key programs under-funded, including Amtrak.  If Amtrak is forced to eliminate service to stay afloat, Arkansas will be one of the first areas to go. 

We all know of the positive benefits of solid infrastructure – it lays the groundwork toward economic opportunity.  In areas like Arkansas, this is crucial to our growth and progress.  

That’s why, as an alternative to the tax cut this spring, I offered an amendment to spend $1 billion in every congressional district in the country to build or improve infrastructure.  For every billion dollars spent on roads, 42,000 new jobs are created.  Instead of accepting my amendment, which would have resulted in 18 million new jobs, Republicans opted for the tax cut.  And now, funding for our roads, bridges, and our railways is being cut to pay for it.   

This is not the way to ensure that our country will continue to move forward and prosper.  If we are to truly stimulate our economy and provide more jobs and economic opportunities for our working families, an investment in our infrastructure is our only option.