CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, released the below statement regarding President Joe Biden’s proposal announced today:
“The EPW Committee has a track record of delivering strong, unified solutions that address a wide variety of our nation’s top infrastructure needs. In 2019, our committee unanimously reported a bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bill, which demonstrated that we can come together and find solutions to our pressing transportation challenges. And, just last week, our committee unanimously reported legislation to rebuild our nation’s water systems. This proves that infrastructure can and should be done on a bipartisan basis.
“While the president unveiled a partisan proposal that goes far beyond what constitutes as infrastructure, the Senate continues negotiations between members of both parties. As I have said before, I am committed to working together to craft a robust surface transportation reauthorization bill and other infrastructure legislation. However, that’s not what the president is proposing today. Instead, President Biden’s so-called ‘jobs’ proposal is a clear attempt to transform the economy by advancing progressive priorities in an unprecedented way. The proposal would aggressively drive down the use of traditional energy resources and eliminate good-paying jobs in West Virginia and across the country. Perhaps worst of all, it would burden the American economy with tax increases as our country attempts to recover from economic hardship. Regardless of the president’s partisan proposal, I stand ready to be a partner in advancing infrastructure legislation in a bipartisan way—just as we have in the past. We’ve done it before, and we can do it again.”
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