Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, many of us here grew up in a time in this country when our parents and our politicians weren't afraid to invest in America.

I have been having a series of meetings, along with other Members here, with the inspector general for Afghanistan. He has 250 investigators. Of the last $100 billion in infrastructure that we have spent in Afghanistan, he can't find where the money has gone and/or where the projects have been completed.

Yet, here we are today, with bridges falling down, roads crumbling, and we are debating legislation that gives an 80 percent cut in our transportation needs, imposes severe restrictions onto a program that is so crucial to our long-term economic growth here in this country.

This program, the TIGER grant program, as you know, and the public needs to know, allows communities to compete for the funding of railroad upgrades, airport runways, highways, bridges, ports.

Recently, at a meeting with the Transportation Committee, we had about 10 transportation leaders from business and commerce before the committee, and I asked the question of every one of them--every one of them: Is there any disagreement here that our roads, our bridges are crumbling? No.

Make a note of it, Mr. Chairman.

Second question, is there anyone here who disagrees with the notion that this is jeopardizing our economic growth and our ability to create good-paying jobs and facilitate the advancement of business interests?

Nobody objects, Mr. Chairman. Make a note of it.

Lastly, Mr. Chairman, is there anybody here--now, mind you, all of the Democrats and Republicans were there. Is there anybody here on this committee that rejects the notion that we need to find more revenue for our transportation, our infrastructure, not less? Nobody disagreed.

So where does this notion come from that we should pass an 80 percent reduction in our TIGER grant program? Clearly, someone is not listening to the business and commercial interests in this country, and they are making a tragic and serious mistake.

Recently, Duluth Harbor, in my district, was a recipient of a $10 million grant. As a result of that, we were able to restore an abandoned pier, dredge the harbor, so that the Great Lakes freighters could access it and extend the rail and the highway transportation accessing the terminal.

We are losing $3 billion in business income a year through the Great Lakes because we are 10 years behind on the dredging. The Lakers are only operating at 80 percent of capacity. We are talking about real jobs. We are talking about real business income. We are talking about our future as a Nation.

Mr. Chairman, this bill does contain some good and necessary increases in funding, such as the FAA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, but an 80 percent cut in this program that spurs innovation, that boosts American manufacturing, creates good-paying jobs, that is no way to invest in our future. That is no way to have a pro-growth, pro-jobs economy.

Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge all of my colleagues: Let's come together here. We have common ground. Let's be bipartisan. Let's reject this 80 percent cut.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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