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For Immediate Release
November, 23 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
John Rumpler, Environment America Clean Water Program Director, 617-997-8296, jrumpler@environmentamerica.org
Matt Casale, U.S. PIRG Environment Campaigns Director, 609-610-8002, mcasale@pirg.org
Taran Volckhausen, Public Interest Network Communications Associate, 720-212-9955, tvolckhausen@publicinterestnetwork.org
New Report: A Blueprint for Stronger, More Sustainable American Infrastructure
Public interest groups call for investment in "shovel-worthy" infrastructure projects as a top opportunity for building a better country.
WASHINGTON
On Jan. 20, 2021, the United States will have a new president, helping to turn the page on a brutal year of disease and disruption. While stark political divisions will undoubtedly remain, a new report from U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Environment America Research & Policy Center, and Frontier Group lays out a vision to bridge political divides through infrastructure investment, seizing a critical opportunity to emerge as a stronger nation after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
"Infrastructure touches virtually every aspect of American life, and is at the heart of our greatest challenges, many of which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic," Matt Casale, U.S. PIRG Education Fund's Environment Campaigns director and report co-author, said. "From ensuring safe drinking water to tackling global warming emissions, renewing our nation's infrastructure policy is a wise use of taxpayer money, and an unprecedented opportunity to build a better world coming out of COVID."
The report emphasizes that the federal government can play a critical role in unlocking new investment in infrastructure - especially at a time when local and state governments are in dire financial straits. But it's not enough to launch projects that are "shovel ready." The infrastructure we build must also be "shovel worthy."
"We can't build a strong and healthy America for our grandchildren using yesterday's approach to infrastructure," Gideon Weissman, Frontier Group policy analyst and report co-author, said. "Simply spending more money won't get us the infrastructure we need for the rest of the 21st century; we need new programs and new priorities."
The report lays out a blueprint for federal infrastructure investment in five key areas essential to protecting public health and addressing climate change: energy, water, natural infrastructure, solid waste and transportation. Some of the recommendations include:
- Invest in renewable energy infrastructure by expanding tax credits for wind, solar and energy storage projects.
- Expand and electrify public transportation beginning by immediately providing at least $32 billion in emergency operating support for transit in the wake of COVID-19 related budget shortfalls.
- Invest $11.5 billion per year for clean water to stop sewage overflows and to get the lead out of drinking water.
"Clean, safe water is the hallmark of an advanced society," John Rumpler, Clean Water Program director for Environment America Research & Policy Center and report co-author, said. "The public is overwhelmingly supportive of increasing water infrastructure funding. We have an incredible opportunity to come together as a nation and ensure that our rivers, lakes and coasts are safe for swimming and our tap water is safe to drink."
With Environment America, you protect the places that all of us love and promote core environmental values, such as clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and clean energy to power our lives. We're a national network of 29 state environmental groups with members and supporters in every state. Together, we focus on timely, targeted action that wins tangible improvements in the quality of our environment and our lives.
(303) 801-0581LATEST NEWS
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Sen. Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation that would require the Pentagon to return a portion of its budget as a penalty for failing audits, but lawmakers from both parties have declined to consider the bill.
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The Pentagon announced late last week that it failed its seventh consecutive audit as the sprawling, profiteering-ridden department wasn't able to fully account for its trillions of dollars in assets.
As with its past failures to achieve a clean audit, the U.S. Defense Department attempted to cast the 2024 results in a positive light, with the Pentagon's chief financial officer declaring in a statement that "momentum is on our side."
The Pentagon is the largest U.S. federal agency and is responsible for roughly half of the government's annual discretionary spending, with its yearly budget approaching $1 trillion despite long-standing concerns about the department's inability to account for vast sums of money approved by lawmakers and presidents from both major parties.
The latest financial assessment published Friday by the Defense Department's inspector general office estimates that the Pentagon has $4.1 trillion in assets. It is the only major federal agency that has never passed a clean audit, as required by law.
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Since the department's first failed audit in 2018, Congress has authorized trillions of dollars in additional military spending. According to the Costs of War Project, more than half of the department's annual budget "is now spent on military contractors" that are notorious for overbilling the government.
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The bill, H.R. 9495, failed to pass the House last week despite bipartisan support because the Republican leadership attempted to pass the measure using a fast-track procedure that requires a two-thirds majority vote. More than 50 Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and other prominent members, backed the legislation in last week's vote, along with 204 Republicans.
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"The bill we defeated days ago is back," the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights wrote on social media over the weekend. "Representatives are trying to ram through H.R. 9495, a repressive bill that could shut down nonprofits & student groups supporting Palestinian rights."
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Abby Maxman, president and CEO of Oxfam America, warned in a statement after Republicans revived the bill that H.R. 9495 "would grant the Trump administration, and any future administration, the ability to silence and censor its critics, curb free speech, target political opponents, and punish crucial organizations that speak truth to power and help people in the United States and around the world."
"This bill would increase the powers of the president at the expense of all of our freedoms, and could impact not only organizations like Oxfam, but other nonprofits, news outlets, or even universities who dare to dissent," said Maxman. "It could put our ability to respond to some of the worst humanitarian crises at risk and prevent us from delivering lifesaving aid to some of the world's most marginalized people."
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"Biden has for the first time allowed Ukraine to use U.S. weapons to strike deep inside Russia," comedian, podcaster, and antiwar writer Lee Camp wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "Apparently the Dems want WWIII before they leave office. Utterly unhinged."
President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office in 63 days, has vowed to quickly end the nearly 1,000-day war, which Russia started in February 2022 with a massive invasion of its smaller neighbor amid significant NATO provocations.
The New York Timesreported that the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS)—which has a range of 190 miles—will likely first be deployed against Russian and recently arrived North Korean troops in the Kursk region of western Russia, where Ukrainian forces have seized a sizable swath of Russian territory.
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The Times said Biden dropped his previous reservations over allowing Ukraine to use the missiles for fear of Moscow's retaliation due to "the sheer audacity of Russia's decision to throw North Korean troops at Ukrainian lines."
Earlier this year, Biden quietly gave Kyiv the green light to carry out limited cross-border strikes near Kharkiv with shorter-range missiles as Russian forces menaced Ukraine's second-largest city.
Taking their cues from Biden, Britain and France on Sunday also dropped their objections to Ukraine using long-range offensive missiles provided by the two countries to attack targets inside Russia.
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Russian officials responded to Biden's move with warnings of serious repercussions.
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