congress serious about infrastructure bill, says pelosi

Despite current partisan rancor in Congress, the chances are improving for passage of a comprehensive infrastructure bill, says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Appearing before the annual National Governors Association meeting in Washington, Pelosi said of a successful infrastructure bill: “I think it is really honestly within range.”

“This is an issue that is not just about bricks and mortar and paving roads and the rest,” the Speaker continued. “It’s about growth, it’s about quality of life. It’s about public health in terms of clean air [and] clean water.”

Pelosi said a sweeping infrastructure will would also include funding for broadband construction in rural America, as well as some urban areas.

The Speaker’s comments come less than a week after President Trump in his State of the Union address urged lawmakers to “invest in new roads, bridges, and tunnels all across our land.”

For its part, the National Governors Association has been pushing an initiative calling for increased infrastructure planning and funding at the state level.
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That initiative, called Infrastructure: Foundation for Success, has asked for a shortening of the review process for proposed infrastructure projects, while also touting a greater role for private investment in those same projects.

​By Garry Boulard

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