Pelosi Statement on Today’s Infrastructure Forum

Pelosi Statement on Today’s Infrastructure Forum

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Contact:Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. â€" Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after hosting a forum with House Democrats and economic and infrastructure experts this morning to discuss the state of America’s infrastructure and options for long term financing improvements.

â€Å"Yesterday, on the House floor, we honored the leadership of Thomas Jefferson’s Treasury Secretary, Albert Gallatin, who 200 years ago next month, submitted a plan to Congress to develop America’s infrastructure. A century later, Theodore Roosevelt convened a White House Conference on the anniversary of the Gallatin project that led to the creation of the National Park Service and helped a growing America remain a green America.

â€Å"Today, in keeping with the traditions of visionary leaders like Albert Gallatin and President Teddy Roosevelt, we gathered some of our nation’s leading experts to discuss our nation’s infrastructure. We thought in bold ways about how to prioritize our nation’s infrastructure needs and how to fund these investments so that we can create good paying jobs for America and reinvigorate our economy.

â€Å"The need is clear and the urgency is great. The challenges our nation faces demand reinvesting in our crumbling highways, transit systems, water and sewer facilities, levees, bridges, and schools. The New Direction Congress stands ready to work in a bipartisan manner to find green solutions, such as mass transit, and modern solutions, such as expanding broadband access across the America, that strengthen the infrastructure that is the backbone of our economy and our country.”