WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered an opening statement at a hearing titled “Long-Term Economic Benefits and Impacts from Federal Infrastructure and Public Transportation Investment.”
Sen. Brown's prepared remarks highlighted the long-standing neglect of infrastructure in Ohio and nationwide. He stated that many Americans felt abandoned by their leaders as they faced deteriorating roads, bridges, and public transportation systems.
"For too long, too many people in Ohio and across the nation thought, for good reason, that their leaders had given up making our infrastructure and manufacturing base the best in the world," said Sen. Brown.
He pointed out how other countries have advanced with high-speed rail and better roads while U.S. infrastructure lagged behind due to inadequate policies that also led to factory closures in places like Zanesville, Mansfield, and Chillicothe.
Sen. Brown emphasized the interconnectedness of economic growth and national security interests through domestic production of semiconductor chips. He credited the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act for initiating over 60,000 infrastructure projects aimed at improving 165,000 miles of roadways and repairing more than 9,400 bridges across all states.
"Every state is benefitting," he noted while mentioning specific projects such as improvements to Alabama's Mobile River Bridge and new buses for rural communities in Minnesota and Idaho.
Brown also highlighted significant projects within Ohio including replacing the Brent Spence companion bridge in Cincinnati—a critical link in the supply chain network—and modernizing public transit systems like Cleveland’s RTA which will receive 60 new rail cars due to federal investments.
Discussing broader economic impacts, Sen. Brown mentioned that these initiatives have added 670,000 construction jobs over three years with expectations for further growth as more projects commence. The laws' "Buy America" provisions ensure that materials used are domestically produced by American workers.
Witness Mike Knisley from the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council was acknowledged for representing workers involved in these projects. "Every one of those graduates had on T-shirts that said in big letters on the back, 'Direct Path to the Middle Class,'" Brown remarked about a training program event he attended with Knisley.
Senator Brown concluded by emphasizing that these jobs offer a direct path to middle-class stability while supporting economic dignity through work opportunities created by ongoing infrastructure investments.
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