The nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill making its way through Congress “has the potential to be an economic game-changer for Connecticut,” according to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
Murphy, who is chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, made the remarks yesterday during a media conference also featuring Connecticut”™s other Democratic U.S. senator, Richard Blumenthal.
Murphy described the 2,700-page Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, for which a vote is expected by week”™s end, as “the biggest one- time investment in infrastructure in this country’s history, and we should get it done. Connecticut’s economy is dependent on our ability to get people and goods from Connecticut to New York, from Connecticut to Boston, and those pathways have been jammed up by a refusal to continue to invest in our highways, in our system of bridges, and in our rail line.”
On the need for increased rail funding in the next phase of the infrastructure package, Murphy said, “This is not good enough to get high-speed, modern rail to Connecticut. It’s going to be the biggest one-time investment in rail infrastructure in the country’s history. That’s great news, but we need to do more. And we’re going to be fighting to get additional dollars.”
Under the bill, state and federal-run railways will receive $24 billion, while railways operated by Amtrak will receive $6 billion.
Blumenthal added that the legislation includes $30 billion over five years for repair work along the Northeast rail corridor ”“ the Northeast Corridor Commission had been seeking $117 billion over 15 years ”“ which the senator said was a “small part of what is necessary.”
“The best way to view this bipartisan proposal is that it is a very profoundly significant down payment,” Blumenthal said. “It’s a start ”“ a good start ”“ but only a first step.”
On the inclusion of funding for the Long Island Sound, Murphy said, “We were able to win a ($106) million increase in funding specifically for Long Island Sound, both water quality programs and habitat coastal restoration, in this legislation. That’s a big win for Connecticut. We have been able to plus up the funding for that program, year after year. About $100 million will make a very big difference.”
The Long Island Sound funds will be split evenly between Connecticut and New York.
Blumenthal lauded the bipartisan approach to drafting ”“ and, presumably, passing ”“ the bill.
“There are areas where we can come together,” he said. “This one is perhaps the best example, because every state, red or blue, has roads, bridges, rails, ports, airports that need upgrading a modernizing.”
