Hire More Heroes Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise in support of the multiyear surface transportation bill before the Senate. The current authorization is set to expire this Friday when the highway trust fund will be depleted to levels that can no longer fully reimburse States for construction that has already been completed. Unfortunately, it looks as though we are going to have yet another short-term extension, rather than immediately enacting a longer term bill, as the House of Representatives is preparing to send the Senate a 3-month extension.

This is a critical time of year for many States, particularly for my home State of Maine, where peak construction work occurs during a very short construction season. It would be irresponsible for Congress not to pass a bipartisan bill this week and keep those projects moving forward.

I hope this fall we will finally be able to come together with our colleagues in the House to send to the President a multiyear surface transportation bill.

The State of Maine currently receives $170 million of Federal highway funds annually, and the Maine Department of Transportation needs and obligates every single dollar. Under the multiyear bill before the Senate, Maine would do even better and would receive nearly $190 million the first year, increasing to nearly $215 million. The legislation before us also prioritizes bridge reconstruction and safety. This funding is critical, as 364 of Maine's bridges have been rated as structurally deficient.

The commissioner of Maine's Department of Transportation tells me that if the highway trust fund is not fixed by July 31, the department will have to stop construction projects midstream within weeks. This would be devastating for the State's economy, for the people employed in these well-paying construction jobs, and for the transportation infrastructure in desperate need of repair and rehabilitation.

The lack of consistent multiyear funding for the highway trust fund makes it so difficult for States to plan, causes construction companies to delay hiring workers, and costs the government more in the long run due to the uncertainty of funding. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the States of Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming are among those that have already postponed bidding on major transportation projects due to the uncertainty of Federal funding.

While I feel I have no choice but to support a short-term patch to prevent the highway trust fund from expiring later this week, this short-term approach is not the answer. It needs to stop being the norm. It epitomizes Congress's failure to govern sensibly--to govern in a cost-effective way, to govern in a way that allows for the creation of good jobs in this country, and the renovation, repair, and rehabilitation of our vital transportation system.

We in the Senate have the opportunity to pass a multiyear surface transportation bill that reauthorizes our highways, transit, rail, and safety programs, while keeping the highway trust fund solvent for the next 3 years. This legislation gives State departments of transportation the certainty they need to continue planning, investing, and constructing thousands of highway and infrastructure projects that the entire Nation relies upon. These investments create jobs, boost our Nation's economy, and keep us competitive in the global marketplace.

The legislation maintains the Federal-aid highway formula program

structure. This funding is not only crucial for building new highways and bridges but also to maintain and repair our Nation's crumbling infrastructure, including, as I mentioned, the thousands of deficient bridges across the Nation.

With the consideration of this important bill, we are one step further to responsible investments, steady investments in infrastructure that millions of Americans count on every day. That is why I am so disappointed that instead we will do yet another short-term patch. We need to get away from that method of funding the highway trust fund.

I also wish to highlight today the importance of the national infrastructure investment grants, otherwise known as the TIGER program. While this program was not included in the underlying bill, Senators Murray, Reed, and I have filed an amendment, along with Senators Cochran, Shelby, and others, that would authorize this highly successful TIGER grant program. This program has been such an effective initiative. It has helped to advance critical transportation infrastructure projects across our great country. It is one of the most flexible transportation programs in which State and local authorities can apply for funding. Every Senator here has seen firsthand how TIGER projects create good jobs and support economic growth in our home States. The program has supported highway, bridge, port, rail, and transit projects from this highly competitive program.

In fact, let me give my colleagues some idea of the demand for the TIGER grants. To date, the TIGER program has received a total of $4.6 billion through appropriations from fiscal year 2009 through 2015, awarding 342 projects in all 50 States. Here is how many applications were submitted. Remember that 342 projects were actually funded. There were 6,700 applications that were received by the Department, totaling nearly $134 billion in funding requests. So my colleagues can see that the pent-up demand is just enormous. This demonstrates how oversubscribed the TIGER program is and how much it is needed by our State and local governments. I have received numerous letters of support for our amendment, some of which include Transportation for America and more than 150 elected officials, State departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and chambers of commerce. You name it; they have endorsed our amendment to authorize this important program.

This is just one of the many ways my colleagues and I would like to work to improve this bipartisan bill. Our TIGER grant amendment is widely supported on both sides of the aisle, and I believe it would pass were we able to get a vote.

It has been a privilege to work very closely with my colleagues, Senator Murray and Senator Reed, both of whom I have worked with on the transportation-HUD subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, as well as Republicans such as Senator Cochran and Senator Shelby at the full committee level on this program. But, most of all, it is important that we act and act quickly to pass a multiyear surface transportation bill that will create jobs and on which our country can depend.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I yield the floor.

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