Issue Position: Public Infrastructure

Issue Position

Build America for the 21st Century

Sometimes it seems that America is crumbling before our very eyes. So it makes sense that Congress should take up a major public infrastructure bill designed to meet those challenges head-on. There has not been a major national infrastructure bill since the late 1980s. It's long overdue.

Mike Bost and the Republicans forced passage of a multi-trillion dollar tax cut for the super-rich to pay off their billionaire donors. The Lenzi for Congress, "We the People," campaign favors using those dollars instead for a massive ten-year public infrastructure bill that would build, repair and rebuild highways, bridges, airports, river levees, schools and other public works projects.
Such an infrastructure bill should also include direct funding as well as expansion of tax credits for solar, wind and other renewable energy sources.

Let's look at three issues that are important for the 12th Congressional District.

1)Transportation: Deep Southern Illinois still needs an improved transportation link to the St. Louis metro area. This should come in the form of a four-lane corridor to Interstate 64 with a light rail corridor connecting to the St. Louis MetroLink in St. Clair County. We will propose and vote for these improvements.

2)Renewable Energy: Any infrastructure package must include projects related to building and developing renewable energy systems for the 21st Century. This means infrastructure investments in a "smart grid" that integrates renewable energy generation and storage so that we can meet the Paris Climate Accord targets. It should also mean demonstration projects within all public buildings and low income publicly subsidized housing. We will target demonstration projects in the 12th District.

3)Protecting our farms and levees: Public infrastructure includes protecting our fertile farmlands from devastation. Hundreds of millions of dollars were lost this past year in the 12th district due to flooding exacerbated by global warming. While some of the flood plain should be set aside for conservation buy out, existing levees should be improved where appropriate.

Public infrastructure investment is vital for America's future. Investment in these and other projects has to be a priority for the future. It goes without saying that all projects should pay Davis-Bacon wages, which means well paid union wages.

Let's invest in America; lets invest in America's future; let's invest in America's infrastructure.

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