Business Before the Senate

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. On a completely different matter, today two Senate committees will consider and vote on two very different pieces of legislation.

Over in the Russell Building, the Environment and Public Works Committee just approved a bipartisan bill, led by Chairman Carper and Ranking Member Capito, to invest in better roads and bridges for the American people.

This would be the first major action on surface transportation since the FAST Act 6 years ago. It would raise the baseline funding for roads and bridges to an alltime high. And, as expected, our colleagues just reported this bill out unanimously, 20 to 0. That is legislating done right. Our colleagues are modeling the approach that would let Congress build a successful, big-picture infrastructure bill later this year.

Meanwhile, in the Hart Building, the Finance Committee will spend its afternoon marking up a leftwing, partisan bill written fully within the spirit of the Green New Deal: maximum pain for working American families in exchange for minimal--minimal--environmental gain.

Under the guise of Clean Energy for America, Chairman Wyden is leading the charge against the most reliable and affordable ways to power our country.

The legislation he has drafted is full of the sort of policies that would increase the price of gas at the pump, hike the tax burden on independent American producers, of course, killing jobs, discourage the industry-led innovations that have already been reducing emissions without hurting workers, and dragging the United States away from energy independence back toward reliance on imports from places like Russia, Venezuela, and the Middle East.

In exchange, the bill would have ordinary Americans subsidize the lifestyle preferences of wealthy people in places like New York and San Francisco.

So one committee unanimously approved a smart, targeted, bipartisan approach to key infrastructure projects that America needs, and another will consider a partisan descendent of the Green New Deal that would raise taxes, probably raise gas prices, and leave us with a less and less reliable electricity grid.

Really, this contrast is a fork in the road that the Biden administration is facing writ large. Which route to take; a lonely road leading to the far left versus a mainstream, bipartisan road leading straight ahead toward practical policies that make American lives actually better?

The Senate knows how to walk that road. This last highway bill passed the Senate with 83 votes. Just last month, we passed a water infrastructure bill with 89 votes.

If President Biden wants to secure lasting solutions, build a lasting legacy, and improve the lives of Americans in practical ways, he has the map in hand. For the sake of the country, let's hope he and his party decide to follow it.

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