•HRES 936 IH 
themselves but as means to further national unity, which 
was part of the promise of the American Revolution, as 
James Madison, writing in The Federalist No. 14, em-
phasized, ‘‘Let it be remarked . . . that the intercourse 
throughout the Union will be facilitated by new improve-
ments. Roads will everywhere be shortened, and kept in 
better order; accommodations for travelers will be multi-
plied and meliorated; an interior navigation on our east-
ern side will be opened throughout, or nearly throughout, 
the whole extent of the 13 States’’, and whose words 
have served as a worthy reminder of the needs for trans-
portation infrastructure since that time; 
Whereas Gallatin incorporated the legacy Benjamin Franklin 
bequeathed to the country through his improvements to 
the Postal Service, including Franklin’s route surveys, his 
placement of milestones on principle roads, and his devel-
opment of shorter transportation routes; 
Whereas the United States, as a result of Gallatin’s legacy, 
has a record of successful infrastructure partnerships, in-
cluding— 
(1) the partnerships that built the Erie Canal, which 
vastly reduced transportation costs to the interior; 
(2) the partnerships that built the transcontinental 
railway, which united the country; 
(3) the partnerships that built transit projects 
across the country that promote freedom and oppor-
tunity; 
(4) the partnerships that built the National Highway 
System, which fostered interstate commerce, national 
unity, and broke down barriers between the States; and 
(5) the partnerships that formed the Tennessee Val-
ley Authority, devised by President Theodore Roosevelt 
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•HRES 936 IH 
as a ‘‘corporation clothed with the power of government 
but possessed of the flexibility and initiative of a private 
enterprise’’, which brought electricity, conservation plan-
ning, and opportunity for thousands in the Tennessee 
Valley and across the country; 
Whereas any national planning endeavor, to be regarded as 
a success, must address and reconcile the needs of dif-
ferent regions of the country; 
Whereas the genius of the Gallatin plan was its alignment of 
the hopes of the Nation with the opportunities presented 
by access to new markets, populations, and territories; 
Whereas the United States currently faces new challenges fi-
nancing the infrastructure necessary for the future eco-
nomic needs of the country; and 
Whereas America must have a plan for its future if it is to 
succeed in a world of increasing international competi-
tion: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the United States House of Rep-
resentatives— 
(1) reaffirms the goals and ideals that formed 
the impetus for Gallatin’s national plan two hundred 
years ago; 
(2) calls on the Federal Government, States, lo-
calities, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, 
and the citizens of the United States to mark this 
important anniversary by recalling the important 
legacy of public investment in infrastructure that 
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•HRES 936 IH 
connects and enhances the economies, communica-
tions, and communities of our several States; and 
(3) supports the creation of a new national plan 
to align the demands for economic development with 
the resources of the Nation. 
Æ 
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