Sen. Sanders wants $1 trillion for nation’s infrastructure

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the Senate Budget Committee ranking member, has introduced legislation to rebuild America's crumbling network of roads, bridges and transit systems and other infrastructure projects. The five-year plan would invest $1 trillion and create or maintain at least 13 million decent-paying jobs, says Sanders.

 

“For too many years, we’ve underfunded our nation’s physical infrastructure. We have to change that and that’s what the Rebuild America Act is all about. We must modernize our infrastructure and create millions of new jobs that will put people back to work and help the economy,” Sen. Sanders said.

Sanders’ bill makes targeted investments in roads, bridges, transit, passenger and freight rail, water infrastructure, marine ports and inland waterways, national parks, municipal broadband and the electric grid.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee and it is backed by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the AFL-CIO, among others.

“These projects require equipment, supplies and services and the hard-earned salaries from these jobs will be spent in countless restaurants, shops and other local businesses. It’s no surprise that groups across the political spectrum – from organized labor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – agree that investing in infrastructure will pay dividends for future generations.”

The proposed bill can be found here.

 

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