Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) spoke on the Senate floor today with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) and other Republican senators, calling on President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats to work with them on a bipartisan infrastructure package.
Senator Lummis talked about the current backlog in funding that our highways and bridges face. She noted, "Right now, we have a Highway Trust Fund that we can't actually trust. Since 2008 we have been relying on General Fund transfers to pay for our roads and bridges, instead of fixing our user fee model to keep the trust fund solvent."
After pointing out several problems facing our transportation infrastructure system, Senator Lummis noted the longstanding bipartisan support for infrastructure improvements.
"While much divides Congress these days, infrastructure, as that term is understood by most Americans, is a bipartisan issue," Senator Lummis said. "As such one would assume President Biden would want to find some common ground in order to build relationships in Congress and address the needs of every citizen."
During her remarks, Senator Lummis highlighted a series of recent water and transportation infrastructure bills that passed through Congress in a bipartisan fashion.
"Honestly, I am hard pressed to remember a time when infrastructure was not bipartisan," she said. "In 2021, this should be no different. If President Biden wants to truly unite the nation, he can start by working with Republicans on the most basic bipartisan issues."
Senator Lummis recently joined Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) in sponsoring The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act. Among other things, this bipartisan bill would address the inadequate drinking water and waste water infrastructure systems in rural and tribal communities in Wyoming and across western states.
As Congress begins considering infrastructure reform, Senator Lummis is uniquely positioned to participate in that process. She sits on all three committees with jurisdiction over transportation infrastructure: the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Development; the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation; and the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works.