Reschenthaler Opposes House Democrats’ Green Infrastructure Wish List
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14) voted against H.R. 2, House Democrats' $1.5 trillion green infrastructure bill. This legislation passed the House by a near party-line vote of 233 to 188.
"I am incredibly disappointed that House Democrats jammed through a partisan transportation bill that prioritizes far-left Green New Deal initiatives over our nation's crumbling infrastructure and disproportionately favors urban areas to the detriment of southwestern Pennsylvania and rural America," said Reschenthaler. "This bill ties $200 billion, or $2 out of every $5 in surface transportation funding, to Green New Deal mandates, requirements, and programs. That's $200 billion that could go towards fixing our decaying roads and bridges, updating our aging waterways, or investing in rural broadband. While I strongly support improving our nation's infrastructure systems, this radical and reckless bill is not the answer."
H.R. 2 spends hundreds of billions of dollars on liberal and environmental priorities, such as $325 million for electric school buses and $100 billion for housing programs, piling more debt onto future generations of Americans. The bill also disproportionately favors urban transportation needs like transit and rail, leaving rural America further behind, reduces flexibility for states, and creates numerous burdensome mandates and programs that will stymie infrastructure investment. Despite broad support from labor and business leaders for streamlining the project review process and placing reasonable limits that still preserve environmental protections, H.R. 2 does not address this major roadblock to advancing infrastructure development.
"Congressional Democrats need to stop playing politics by pushing their liberal priorities that will never be signed into law," said Reschenthaler. "It is past time we work together on bipartisan infrastructure solutions that will strengthen our economic competitiveness, support family-sustaining jobs in our communities, and move our transportation system into the 21st century."
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