Senator Discusses ND Infrastructure Needs

Is the government spending enough money on the vast infrastructure that keeps this country moving...  More »

Is the government spending enough money on the vast infrastructure that keeps this country moving? North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad says more can be done and will be done if the budget he has proposed is passed onto and signed by the President. Two versions of the budget are being worked on one in the house, and his in the Senate. Conrad says his Senate version does more to ensure Americans that the countries infrastructure will be reliable. (Sen. Kent Conrad - (D) North Dakota) There has been a reduction in funding for infrastructure in this administration by more than ten percent. The budget that I presented to my colleagues will add almost 14 billion dollars in '08 and '09 for critical infrastructure projects for two reasons. One, it will make us more competitive as a country, and two, they are job creators. Conrad says for every one billion dollars spent on infrastructure, 47 thousand jobs are created a major reason he hopes the conference committee currently working out the differences between the House and Senate version of the budget keep his spending proposal in tact. (Sen. Kent Conrad) We have more infrastructure spending in my budget than is in the House budget and so we are trying to make the case for being more ambitious here for those two reasons, to improve the economy and to make America as competitive as we can be. Conrad was in Minot today for an official field hearing of the Senate Budget Committee.  « Less