WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal making the conservative case for the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“The infrastructure bill offers the nation a vision of responsible stewardship. It was negotiated rigorously over the course of months between House and Senate members, Democrats and Republicans. While the reconciliation bill steals from our children’s future by burdening the next generation with debt and weakening free enterprise, the infrastructure bill secures it by making investments our communities and economy need,” wrote Dr. Cassidy.
Click here to read the full op-ed or read below for featured portions.
We Must Pass the Infrastructure Bill
The devastation left by Hurricane Ida has brought the national debate about America’s dilapidated infrastructure into clearer perspective. Everyone digging out from Ida’s wrath understands that small businesses and budding industries can’t thrive if the electricity grid is down and roads are impassable due to flooding. Without effective, safe and secure infrastructure, there is no foundation to rebuild, and economic growth is difficult to achieve.
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Consider how this bill differs in process and substance from the reckless tax-and-spending spree Democrats want to shove down the country’s throat in a matter of weeks through budget reconciliation. The infrastructure bill offers the nation a vision of responsible stewardship. It was negotiated rigorously over the course of months between House and Senate members, Democrats and Republicans. While the reconciliation bill steals from our children’s future by burdening the next generation with debt and weakening free enterprise, the infrastructure bill secures it by making investments our communities and economy need.
Conservatives should want government to make these sorts of investments. The federal government invested $14.5 billion to make New Orleans’ levee system more resilient after Hurricane Katrina. When the levees held firm against the storm surge during Hurricane Ida, we saw the return on that investment. Let’s make that same commitment to resiliency today.
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