H.R. 3684

Floor Speech

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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, it is indeed a pleasure to be on the floor, even though it is a little bit late on a Sunday evening, but to be here with colleagues that we have spent probably more time with one another than we have with our families, our spouses, our roommates, and what have you. But we have been working to build a product not only that we are proud to stand behind but a product that I believe the American public will be proud of the work that we have put into this-- work not just of this group but, again, the broader group of 22.

And also we recognize the very solid work that comes from our committees. We recognize all that was built at the committee level to help kick-start in so many different--in so many different--areas, but also to build the base of much of this infrastructure bill that we have in front of us today.

My friend and colleague from West Virginia, Senator Manchin, the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee--when we started to sit down and focus on what we were going to do with infrastructure, the necessity for a power piece was important. It was critical to what we were building. And so the committee went to work, put together, I think, a good product that moved out of the committee on a bipartisan basis, and that served as really the base for the title that is part of this measure, building on the energy act that we moved out of this body last year.

So the work that has gone into it has been a collaborative process throughout the way--very much an iterative process, as I might add, as well.

But I think we recognize that the good, solid work that has been put into this to date is just really the beginning of bringing in more of the efforts and input from our colleagues from this body from around the country.

You know, when you think about infrastructure, infrastructure connects us. Infrastructure brings us together. And so whether you are from a rural State, like mine, or from an urban State, like the occupant of the Chair, when we are able to move safely and efficiently, when we are able to communicate affordably and quickly and efficiently, when we are able to ensure that our systems are all working together, this is what makes us the strong, competitive Nation that we are.

So there is extraordinary policy in this product, but the process that has gotten us here this evening is one that, while hard and arduous, as the Senator from Arizona has noted, this is what we come here to do. We have come here to do the hard work, to do the necessary work. And tonight we are at that place where we can begin to take up the infrastructure product that we have been working on for months now and what the country is waiting for deserves.

With that, I turn to my friend and colleague from West Virginia.

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