Senators to Trump: Borrowing Money from Japan to Buy Japanese Trains not the Way to Create American Jobs & Fix All of America's Crumbling Infrastructure

Press Release

Senate Democrats from key committees, led by Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), are pressing President Trump to live up to his campaign promise to invest $1 trillion in rebuilding American infrastructure today, ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit with President Trump. Reports suggest Trump and Abe plan to discuss Japanese investment in American infrastructure -- including potential American purchases of Japanese high-speed rail trains -- as part of a larger plan for economic cooperation.

In January, ranking members from Senate Infrastructure Committees rolled out a blueprint for rebuilding American roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure that would fulfill Trump's campaign promise of a $1 trillion investment in American infrastructure. As part of that pledge, Trump said "Buy America and Hire America," would be key cornerstones of his plan.

Today those Democrats are calling on the President to reject foreign investment gimmicks and instead work with them to implement their infrastructure blueprint that will help build new projects and fix crumbling infrastructure in both big cities and rural America.

Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-DE), Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Budget Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) released the following joint statement:

"Borrowing money from Japan is not the way to create American jobs. We urge President Trump to reject foreign investment gimmicks and instead work with us to keep his promise to the American people by investing in American infrastructure, built with American iron and steel.

"Every day we delay meaningful investment is a day parents are driving to work on potentially unsafe bridges, kids are learning in crumbling schools, businesses are going without the high-speed internet they need to be competitive, construction workers aren't on the job, and families are living in houses filled with dangerous lead."