Tester Celebrates Infrastructure Bill Agreement
During a conference call with state news reporters, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., stressed the benefits of a historic infrastructure legislation agreed upon by a bipartisan Senate group last week.
Tester was one of five Democratic senators who worked with five Republican senators during the negotiations.
He notes that the deal will upgrade Montana’s aging infrastructure, create good-paying jobs and help the nation maintain its competitive edge over China.
“Montanans have been living off our parents’ and grandparents’ infrastructure for decades, and this package will finally provide critical investments in roads, bridges, broadband, airports and water systems across our state that will boost our economy for years to come.”
Tester said these improvements will be done “without raising taxes on hard-working Montana families.”
Projects that the package is geared to address include:
•$1 billion to complete all authorized rural water projects through the Bureau of Reclamation, including Fort Peck/Dry Prairie, Rocky Boys/North Central, and Musselshell-Judith rural water systems.
•$3.5 billion for Indian Health Service Sanitation Construction program, providing water, sewage, and sanitation services to tribal households
•DRIVE Safe Act, which creates a pilot program that lifts federal regulations that prevent Montana truck drivers under 21 years of age from transporting goods across state lines and establishes a new training initiative for 18 to 20-year-old truck drivers.
•Right Track Act & Blocked Railroad Crossing Bill, which improve safety at rural train crossings and addresses instances of blocked highway- railroad crossings across the U.S.
•$15 million to study Amtrak- long distance passenger rail travel, providing funding for groups working to increase access to long-distance passenger rail travel like the Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Working Group.
During the conference call, Tester also addresses the challenges faced by ag producers because of drought conditions. He called it the hottest, driest summer in his memory.
He urged farmers and ranchers to stay tuned with the Farm Service Agency when assistance programs become available.
Tester is urging officials to reopen the U.S.-Canadian border as soon as safely possible. “We’re going to continue to push to open it up,” he said.
With a surge of COVID cases happening in some parts of the country, Tester urges individuals to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
