“For too long, Americans heard talk in Washington about infrastructure, but no action.
“President Joe Biden, with a bipartisan effort in Congress, is taking real, meaningful action and providing a generational commitment to addressing our backlog of infrastructure needs.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin, Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, released the following statement.
“I had the privilege of attending the White House ceremony for the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—the bipartisan infrastructure package that I and many of my colleagues have long awaited and worked hard to develop. More importantly, our constituents have long awaited this moment—a true federal commitment to upgrading and modernizing our nation’s infrastructure to create jobs, expand opportunities, strengthen our competitiveness, address climate change, enhance safety, and improve lives.
“For too long, many worthy infrastructure projects—projects to improve transit service, to speed the flow of goods at our ports, to renovate airport terminals, to replace deteriorating bridges, to make roadways safer, to expand broadband networks, to fix aging pipes—have waited in the wings, stuck on the drawing board, lacking sufficient federal resources to move them forward. For too long, Americans heard talk in Washington about infrastructure, but no action.
“By signing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, President Joe Biden, with a bipartisan effort in Congress, is taking real, meaningful action and providing a generational commitment to addressing our backlog of infrastructure needs.
“This legislation is a big deal for Maryland. Though one of the smaller states in area, Maryland contains within its borders a wide diversity of communities and geographic conditions. We are at once a coastal state, dealing with the risks posed by climate change such as sea level rise, and an Appalachian State, grappling with tough economic transitions such as the shift away from coal and the loss of older manufacturing. We are home to vibrant urban centers, large metropolitan regions, as well as small rural communities. Given this diversity, Maryland has needs and challenges across all areas of infrastructure. Our state stands to benefit in numerous ways from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and I am committed to ensuring our communities have strong federal support in the work that lies ahead.
“And now begins the hard work of implementation. This work will require participation from all of us—from our federal agencies in coordinating with states and local governments, to workers seeking job training and apprenticeships, local officials and planners developing project proposals, and everyday citizens providing their input on how to improve their communities.
“To further support Americans by lowering costs and expanding opportunities, we have more work to do in enacting President Biden’s full Build Back Better agenda. I am excited for all of this work to begin, and I congratulate the President and my colleagues in Congress for this important, historic achievement.”
