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Neal Comments at Press Event Unveiling the Moving Forward Act, Democrats’ Bold Plan to Rebuild America’s Infrastructure

(As prepared for delivery)

The Moving Forward Act is the next crucial step we are taking to help make Americans and our country whole again.

We have endured unthinkable loss at the hands of this staggering crisis and while we have acted quickly and decisively to limit the aftermath of coronavirus, millions of Americans have lost loved ones and had their lives seriously altered in a matter of a few short months. My heart is with everyone affected.

While this pandemic is far from over, we must now turn our attention to restarting our economy and getting hard-working Americans back on the job.

I’ve been saying this for a long time: substantial investments in our nation’s infrastructure will spur economic growth and uplift our workers and families.

For far too long, our most utilized public goods have gone without much-needed improvements, compromising the safety and security of our communities.

But now, we have an opportunity. We can help our economy bounce back from this devastating pandemic by creating millions of good-paying jobs while investing in crumbling bridges and schools and revitalizing communities.

The Moving Forward Act isn’t just a solution for the immediate future. Dollars invested now will lead to a more prosperous and competitive America for decades to come.

The Ways & Means Committee contributed provisions to this legislation that are grounded in a forward-thinking mindset and making sure we are prepared for the challenges of tomorrow.

Most importantly, we added programs to combat climate change by deploying green energy technologies to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

These programs will create new green, good-paying union jobs. Together, this is the largest tax investment in combatting climate change that Congress has ever made.  

We leaned on our tax code and will reinstate Build America Bonds, to not only provide financing to state and local governments but also spur investment in the private sector.

There is a desperate need for modernizing low-income housing and the Committee proposed a massive expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit to get us there.

These contributions will touch every corner of this country and I’m especially proud of how significantly this will impact Western Massachusetts.

The Moving Forward Act invests $100 billion to expand broadband access, making internet service more accessible and affordable.

This legislation’s investment in the railroad system will help support the East-West Rail, finally linking the western part of our state to Boston.  

I know we can get this done. The Trump Administration has touted infrastructure as a top priority and earlier this year, Secretary Mnuchin reinforced their interest in a robust infrastructure package while testifying before the Ways & Means Committee.

We fully expect them to meet us at the table and get this groundbreaking legislation signed into law.

An investment of this magnitude has been necessary for years, but it’s more urgently-needed than ever as we work to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

A face sheet on this legislation can be found HERE.

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