Cbc Supports Investing in Infrastructure

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARSON. Madam Speaker, I thank the Congressional Black Caucus for giving us a leader, a hero, a visionary, a general, and a true public servant in Chairwoman Joyce Beatty, a fellow Midwesterner.

Madam Speaker, when I see people like Congresswoman Beatty, it motivates me in the spirit of my grandmother, in the spirit of Fannie Lou Hamer, in the spirit of Harriet Tubman, in the spirit of Sojourner Truth. That fearlessness, that boldness, that commitment to liberation in freeing us from physical shackles along with mental shackles.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to join my great colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus tonight in support of the INVEST Act, a bill that we marked up over 18 hours in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Madam Speaker, now this is one of the greenest bills to ever come to the floor. It provides strong support for sustainable infrastructure, green infrastructure, and green transit.

The INVEST Act also addresses critical water projects for clean drinking water and wastewater projects, priorities that are long overdue after the racial injustices discovered in the Flint water crisis.

The INVEST Act includes strong job creation provisions for minority contractors and transportation professionals that will help spur Black generational success and wealth.

We also know that access to reliable transportation is a civil rights priority. It is critical to economic and educational opportunities.

This bill makes big investments to cut carbon emissions. For electric vehicle technologies, it expands EV charging stations and networks across our country by investing $4 billion in charging infrastructure, helping the U.S. shift to the next generation of clean vehicles. I am especially proud of the EV charging stations approved in the bill for Indianapolis, which has one of the first green bus rapid transit systems.

This bill also dedicates $8.3 billion for activities targeted to reduce carbon pollution and provides $6.2 billion for mitigation and resiliency improvements. It also advances the development and utilization of green construction materials.

It makes our roads safer with a great boost to smart road technologies and roadway safety programs, plus record levels of investment in walking and cycling infrastructure, complete streets planning and smarter road design, and safe routes to schools.

This bill also strengthens passenger rail service, as Mr. Clyburn mentioned. At my request, our staff request, there were provisions included to improve rail safety by addressing highway-rail grade crossing needs, as well as addressing trespasser and suicide fatalities and eliminating gaps in railroad safety.

This bill also creates a Federal blocked crossing program to collect data and enforce a 10-minute blocked crossing limit. This is a huge win for the problems we have faced in Indianapolis and other places as well.

Madam Speaker, the INVEST Act is a long-overdue bill, and I urge my colleagues to help us in passing this monumental piece of legislation.

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