Washington, D.C. – Building our nation’s infrastructure, creating jobs and avoiding a pork-laden bill must be the goal of any economic stimulus measure, according to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republican Leader John L. Mica (R-FL).
The Committee is conducting a hearing today to review pending and delayed transportation infrastructure projects that could be expedited to provide a boost to the nation’s lagging economy.
“Any stimulus bill we consider should not be an opportunity for Members of Congress to load it up with pork projects,” Mica said. “We should focus on eliminating red tape to move forward with projects critical to improving our deteriorating infrastructure and providing out-of-work Americans with jobs.
“Because of bureaucratic delays, many important projects can take years to complete,” Mica continued. “The burdensome, bureaucratic process of modernizing our aging bridges, highways, transit and rail systems, ports and aviation infrastructure must be sped up. The I-35W bridge replacement in Minneapolis, for example, was contracted to be completed in just 437 days. This project is a model for how we can expedite other major projects and put people back to work quickly.
“Transportation infrastructure is the backbone of our nation’s economy, but this vital element of our economy is crumbling. Every $1 billion we invest in our infrastructure creates or sustains 35,000 jobs. A carefully considered investment in the most beneficial projects can increase employment, rebuild America and help lead us out of this economic slump,” Mica said.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, we need to invest $1.6 trillion over the next five years to bring our infrastructure up to an acceptable quality. But today’s hearing focuses on a smaller subset of those infrastructure projects – ones that are “ready-to-go” and can create U.S. jobs in the next four months.
A survey done by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has identified 3,071 highway and bridge projects totaling $17.9 billion that can be put out to bid in the next 90 days.
The American Public Transportation Association estimates that $8 billion can be spent on 559 transit projects in the next 3 months.
A recent survey by the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities and the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators has identified $9.12 billion in ready-to-go clean water projects in 25 different states.
Public officials from state and local governments and transportation and infrastructure industry experts are testifying today about these and other needs that could be addressed through a Congressional stimulus measure.
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