February 04, 2020

Chair DeFazio Responds to President Trump’s State of the Union Address

Washington, D.C. — Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) released the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address:

“Tonight, President Trump spent a great deal of time talking up the strength of the U.S. economy. It’s true that CEOs and high-dollar donors, especially those hell-bent on gutting environmental protections, are doing better than ever under this administration. But President Trump barely mentioned the need to invest in our communities and help regular Americans by rebuilding our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. That is incredibly disappointing, because the reality is that three years into his administration, President Trump has yet to put forth a single new idea that would fix our roads, bridges, ports, airports, water infrastructure, and transit systems, or show any leadership on how our country funds significant infrastructure investment. This is a massive missed opportunity.

“Fortunately, House Democrats aren’t waiting on President Trump to move forward and work on behalf of all Americans. Last week, I stood with my Democratic colleagues to unveil our framework for a five-year, $760 billion investment to address our country’s most urgent infrastructure needs, from tackling our growing maintenance backlog, to designing safer streets, to putting the U.S. on a path toward zero emissions and increasing resiliency. This framework is the launchpad we need to create millions of jobs while curbing carbon pollution and building smarter and safer infrastructure that meets the needs of a 21st century economy. We need to move forward with bold action and real investment. What our country doesn’t need is the same worn-out excuse from this Administration that ‘streamlining’ and cutting environmental protections is the answer to making progress on infrastructure. 

“To underscore the danger of cutting critical regulations and putting polluters ahead of people, my guest to the State of the Union was Joe Moll with the McKenzie River Trust in Eugene, Oregon. Joe knows firsthand the perils of rolling back clean water protections, which is a Trump Administration gift to industry at the expense of the American people. The fact is anyone who likes to fish or swim in their local lakes and streams or who wants clean drinking water should be alarmed by this Administration's priorities.

“While I am disappointed the President said just one sentence about our nation’s transportation infrastructure, my Committee will continue to draft comprehensive legislation to improve the lives of everyday Americans, while bringing our nation's infrastructure into a state of good repair and ensuring the projects we undertake are smarter, safer, and made to last.”

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