Investing in the Nation's Infrastructure

Floor Speech

Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, the Robert S. Pierson is a Canadian freighter full of wheat, trying to reach a Buffalo business. It's been stuck in the Buffalo River for 5 days because of a broken lift bridge, causing economic damage throughout the Great Lakes and its economy.

For years, House Republicans have chosen policies of austerity, sequester, and now, shutdown. They have refused to invest in America, and, as the Pierson shows, this is catching up to us.

In a recent interview, World Fuel Services Chairman Paul Stebbins decried our lack of investment in infrastructure, education, and research, saying:

Europe has 10 years of disaster ahead of them. China's a mess, financially. The U.S. could be blowing the doors off it, but the worst enemy is us. This is self-imposed. So shame on us.

Indeed, shame on us. Shutting down the government and playing games with our credit is exactly the wrong thing to do. Now is the time for bold investment in rebuilding the Nation's infrastructure, not brinkmanship.

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