Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), member of a group of 21 senators working to craft a bipartisan infrastructure bill, published an op-ed in the Washington Post urging the Senate to act quickly on bipartisan legislation that strengthens our recovery, boosts global competitiveness, and secures support for bold proposals moving forward.
The Washington Post: A bipartisan infrastructure bill proves our democracy can still work
By Chris Coons
President Biden last week completed eight days overseas where he rallied western democracies around commitments to distribute vaccines to the world, combat climate change and rebuild the global economy from covid-19.
While the president was abroad, a bipartisan group of senators worked hard to seize a real — but fleeting — opportunity to craft a historic infrastructure package. I joined 20 colleagues from both parties in supporting this framework that Congress should debate, pass and send to the president’s desk. We now have a chance to strengthen our competitiveness and boost our economy, and doing so through a bipartisan bill now will unlock further progress we need across many areas.
The United States already has made a strong start toward that recovery. We are the only Group of Seven country where projections for growth are higher than they were in 2020. Unemployment is down, vaccination rates are up and the Senate just passed bipartisan legislation to invest in manufacturing and R & D to position the country to lead in industries of the future and compete with China.
On infrastructure, though, our country lags far behind. We all drive on an Interstate Highway System that was built mostly in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and we have airports, roads, bridges and tunnels that are failing by any analysis and make us less competitive globally. While our nation has underinvested in infrastructure for decades, China has invested three times as much — both domestically and internationally, eclipsing the United States as the leading investor in infrastructure in the developing world.
The full op-ed can be read here.
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