Expressing support for the designation of the week of May 15 though 19, 2017, as Infrastructure Week.

Bill: 115-hres-326
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Payne, Donald M., Jr. [D-NJ-10]
Introduced: 2017-05-16
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Commemorative events and holidays

Infrastructure development

Public contracts and procurement

Roads and highways

Small business
Latest action: action_date: 2017-05-17
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-05-16
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>Calls upon the people of the United States to observe Infrastructure Week with appropriate advocacy, programs, and activities.</p> <p>Celebrates the dedication and contributions of the contractors and small business owners that will take part in future infrastructure projects across the nation.</p>

tv_txt: IV 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 326 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 16, 2017 Mr. Payne submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure RESOLUTION Expressing support for the designation of the week of May 15 though 19, 2017, as Infrastructure Week.

Whereas the term infrastructure generally refers to long-lived, capital-intensive systems and facilities, such as freight and passenger highway, aviation, railroad, water resources development, and telecommunications systems and facilities; Whereas former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced in his report on the status of America’s infrastructure that the Nation needs $926 billion of infrastructure investment to address the backlog of unmet capital investment needs and to prepare the Nation’s roads, bridges, and transit systems for increased usage in the decades ahead; Whereas Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor is the busiest rail line in North America, with approximately 2,200 Amtrak, commuter, and freight trains operating in the Corridor daily; Whereas the deadline for railroads to implement a life-saving technology called Positive Train Control is December 31, 2018; Whereas, without infrastructure investment, 30 percent of rail miles in primary corridors will be operating above capacity by 2035, causing severe congestion that will affect every region of the United States and potentially shift freight to the Nation’s already heavily congested highway system; Whereas the cost of bringing the Nation’s rail transit and bus systems into a state of good repair is estimated at $90 billion; Whereas Congress can reinvigorate wastewater infrastructure investments by reauthorizing the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program at a minimum Federal funding level of $20 billion over 5 years; Whereas according to its most recent Clean Watersheds Needs Survey, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that the total capital cost of meeting the Nation’s wastewater and stormwater treatment needs over the next 25 years is $271 billion; Whereas by 2025, the projected shortfall in airport infrastructure investment may cause the loss of nearly 257,000 jobs and $337 billion in lost gross domestic product (GDP); Whereas since 2012, Congress has provided only $3.35 billion per year in funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), while airports collect another $3 billion each year in locally imposed Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs); and Whereas the week of May 15 though 19, 2017, is an appropriate week to designate as Infrastructure Week: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) celebrates the dedication and contributions of the contractors and small business owners that will take part in future infrastructure projects across the Nation; (2) supports the goal of thoroughly drafting and expediently submitting a transportation and infrastructure plan to build the Nation’s roads; (3) commits to engaging diverse contractors in future infrastructure projects; and (4) calls upon the people of the United States to observe Infrastructure Week with appropriate advocacy, programs, and activities.