Hoyer Remarks at "Out-Build, Out-Innovate"

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Hoyer Remarks at "Out-Build, Out-Innovate"
Press Conference



WASHINGTON, DC - Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer held a press conference today to detail the impact of the Republican Spending Bill on our ability to out-innovate and out-build our global competitors. He was joined by Vice-Chair of the Democratic Steering & Policy Committee Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (FL-20), Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (CA-39), Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05) and Nancy Lilly, President of JEM Engineering, which is located in Laurel, Maryland. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
"Our nation is in deep fiscal trouble, and cutting spending is part of the solution. But we can’t cut spending in a reckless, short-sighted way that mortgages our country’s economic future.
"Let’s cut wasteful or low-priority spending—but let’s also protect the investments that help the middle class and businesses grow, innovate, and create high-paying jobs here in America. We need to make the tough choices in our budget so we can out-build and out-innovate our competitors in the global economy.
"We need to out-build our competitors because a world-class infrastructure—from highways to broadband connections to air traffic control systems—attracts and keeps businesses, creates jobs, and grows our economy. That’s why it’s disappointing that the spending bill brought to the floor by Republicans would cancel 76 transportation projects in 40 states, and leave us with roads, bridges, and an air traffic control system stuck in the last century. And it’s extremely disappointing that these cuts, according to analysis by the Democratic staff of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would lead to the loss of 300,000 private-sector jobs.
"We need to out-innovate our competitors because we want to keep the world’s newest products created and built here in America. Funding for science and research leads to new generations of industries and jobs, and we want those jobs to be in America. But the Republican spending bill would cut support for 20,000 researchers at the National Science Foundation, cut $1.4 billion of energy research, and cut $2.5 billion of medical research.
"Fiscal responsibility is crucial—but it shouldn’t mean sacrificing our competitive edge. Democrats support these investments in growth—in out-building and out-innovating. And that’s why we’ve also worked hard to pass the Make It In America agenda, a set of bills designed to create an environment that can help American businesses make more products, and create more jobs, here in America—so that middle-class families in all of our communities can make it."



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