Investing in A New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this infrastructure boondoggle bill, which is focused on advancing the Green New Deal agenda.

Instead of focusing on roads, bridges, and highways that keep the economy moving and Americans employed, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to divert funding streams through nonroadway infrastructure and leave rural surface transportation in the dust.

One of the major roadblocks to successfully reinvigorating our national infrastructure is the mountains of red tape, paperwork, and bureaucracy involved with surface transportation infrastructure. This bill does nothing to reform the permitting process. It leaves in place a broken permitting regime that slows projects down to a dead stop.

Contrary to what some may say, bureaucratic red tape has a direct impact on infrastructure investment. Project delays cost nearly $4 trillion in economic impact, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.

We can point to nations like Canada, Germany, and Australia, who provide a robust and responsible environmental review process in just 2 years. Compare that to ours, the 3\1/2\ to 5 years it takes just one Federal agency, not including other Federal agencies that even add more time in the process.

Finally, I oppose H.R. 2 for its lack of bipartisan participation. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle may try to point to an amendment here and there and call it bipartisan, but I have worked on true bipartisan legislation that doesn't just tick off the boxes of partisan talking points. I have fought to pass legislation that gets the hard work of infrastructure investment and permitting reform done while working with my Democratic colleagues in the past. I can tell you from experience, H.R. 2 is not that.

Republicans were prevented from offering real input on this bill, one that has broad application and diverse impact across every type of community in this country. Instead, Republicans were shut out of the process. This is purely a leftwing messaging bill with their grandiose nonsense that is far from reality in addressing the real-world infrastructure concerns.

For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 2.

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