Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 163 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2017 No. 7 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was investment by 2020, just to keep our We stand to lose $1 trillion a year in called to order by the Speaker pro tem- country in a state of good repair. By lost sales in 2020, if we fail to build out pore (Mr. FLEISCHMANN). contrast, China, perhaps our greatest our freight infrastructure to keep pace f international rival, spends nearly four with future growth. times of its GDP on infrastructure Congestion is also an issue at our Na- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO than we do and announced nearly a tion’s airports. Ground delays are be- TEMPORE trillion dollars more infrastructure coming a greater challenge as more The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- spending just last year. and more people fly regularly. These fore the House the following commu- Put simply, our national infrastruc- delays can have a very serious con- nication from the Speaker: ture system is an embarrassment, sequence, resulting in passengers being earning a D-plus grade from the Amer- late to their destinations, lost produc- WASHINGTON, DC, ican Society of Civil Engineers. It is a January 11, 2017. tivity from cargo sitting on runways, I hereby appoint the Honorable CHARLES J. threat to our economy, to American and increased pollution due to need- FLEISCHMANN to act as Speaker pro tempore jobs, to our national security, and to lessly burning jet fuel. on this day. our environment. In addition to air and ground, we PAUL D. RYAN, We need a public transportation sys- must also talk about our waterways. Speaker of the House of Representatives. tem that gets people where they need Each year millions of tons of material f to be, keeps our roads clear, and makes traverse inland waterways like the our cities better places to live. We need Mississippi River and the Saint Law- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE a freight system that moves products rence Seaway. But, according to the and raw materials quickly, safely, and The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- Army Corps of Engineers, there is a bil- efficiently. We need airways that reli- ant to the order of the House of Janu- lion dollar maintenance backlog that ably move people and cargo around the ary 3, 2017, the Chair will now recog- threatens to keep our waterways from country and the world in a timely man- nize Members from lists submitted by maintaining adequate levels of per- the majority and minority leaders for ner. We need river locks and ports that allow American farmers to ship their formance. morning-hour debate. There are problems in our water and products to market, no matter where The Chair will alternate recognition sewer systems, too. The 240,000 water between the parties, with each party that is. We need water pipes and sewers that transport safe, clean water to main breaks that occur in this country limited to 1 hour and each Member each year cost us more than $2.6 bil- other than the majority and minority every American. And we need to close the broadband gap so that every Amer- lion; not to mention the lost produc- leaders and the minority whip limited ican can take advantage of the oppor- tivity caused by closed roads, lost to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- tunities the Internet provides. water, and other indirect impacts. bate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. Investing in America’s infrastructure Nearly all of the U.S. underground f is good politics, good economics, and water pipes will reach or surpass their useful lifespans in the next decade. The AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE the right thing to do. Each year, Amer- icans take around 11 billion trips on longer we wait, the higher the price tag The SPEAKER pro tempore. The public transportation systems like will become. Chair recognizes the gentleman from buses, commuter rail, and light rail, Finally, we can use our infrastruc- Illinois (Mr. QUIGLEY) for 5 minutes. contributing to the $58 billion industry ture system to promote economic Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, a strong, that employs nearly half a million peo- growth and economic equality, and one safe, reliable, and efficient infrastruc- ple. And yet, almost half of our Na- great way to do that is to close the ture system is vital for robust and sus- tion’s buses and a quarter of our rail broadband gap and increase access to tained economic growth. Comprehen- assets are in marginal or poor condi- high-speed Internet. As many as 50 mil- sive infrastructure reform is all-inclu- tion. lion Americans live in areas without sive and requires an ongoing invest- My city of Chicago is the crossroads the ability to get high-quality and use- ment by the Federal Government in for the Nation’s freight system, and ful Internet access. Extending the abil- not just our roads and bridges but in each day more than 54 million tons of ity to get online benefits businesses, all of the vital systems that support freight is moved across the U.S., and employees, students, and everyone else our way of life. nearly a quarter of it passes through without this vital utility, all while Currently, the United States needs the Chicago city limits—at times, very spurring economic activities that rip- around $3.6 trillion in infrastructure slowly. ple throughout the economy. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H303 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 Jan 12, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A11JA7.000 H11JAPT1 smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HOUSE H304 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 11, 2017 The benefits of smart investment and Assad and because of Russia empow- are a nation in need of remembering infrastructure are massive. Every bil- ering them and using precision-guided that mission, and it is my sincere hope lion spent in infrastructure creates munitions to hit innocent civilians and that this will change very soon. 13,000 jobs, in addition to improving take their life away. f the efficiency of the system. And every Last week, the U.S. abstained from a IMMIGRATION dollar invested generates almost $3 in vote in the United Nations Security economic activity. Council on the biased resolution tar- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Conversely, the consequences of fail- geting our ally Israel. Chair recognizes the gentleman from ing to act are dire. Each American Mr. Speaker, rather than turning on Illinois (Mr. GUTIE´ RREZ) for 5 minutes. ´ household stands to lose $3,400 per year freedom-loving nations around the Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, as I in disposable income thanks to infra- world, we must stand with them. No- have said before, we hope for the best structure deficiencies. That is money where is this more important than in from the new President, but we must taken directly from our constituents’ the fight against terrorism. prepare for the worst. pockets, money they would use to sup- Before the holidays, a list went out Everyone who has looked at the record of the key advisers to President- port themselves and their families, not from ISIS accounts with the names of elect Trump on the issue of immigra- to mention the economy as a whole, churches in the United States that tion has reason for very deep concern which could lose more than $4 trillion should be attacked over the holidays. that the new President is going to fol- in GDP and more than 2.5 million jobs Then, an attack in Berlin took the low the advice of some of the most ex- by 2025. lives of 12 innocent civilians and in- treme voices in the immigration de- We owe it to each other and every jured more than 50 in a Christmas mar- ket. On New Year’s Eve, there was a bate. one of our constituents to act. I urge As for the new President himself, he the 115th Congress to prioritize infra- savage attack at a nightclub in Istanbul, killing 39 revelers and injur- is a bit of an unknown because he structure spending and pass a com- changes his mind on key issues just as prehensive package that addresses all ing dozens. Both attacks were claimed by ISIS quickly as his Twitter feed refreshes. aspects of the connected infrastructure seeking to strike fear into freedom-lov- He says he has a plan for this and a system. ing people around the world. While we plan for that, but they are secret plans, f all must remain vigilant, we cannot and, as far as we know, they are even WE MUST STAND WITH FREEDOM- give in to that fear, and we must con- secrets to him. LOVING NATIONS AROUND THE tinue to live our lives. He knows more about computers and WORLD What we need right now, Mr. Speak- the Internet, ISIS and terrorists, Rus- er, is a renewed American moment, re- sia and NATO than all of the policy ex- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The newed American leadership after 8 perts put together, and he thinks of Chair recognizes the gentleman from years of decline. We need a Churchill himself as kind of the ultimate Presi- Illinois (Mr.