WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, on Monday urged passage of the Build Back Better budget resolution on the U.S. Senate floor. Murphy specifically argued we need more federal dollars to combat the climate crisis and assist with community violence intervention programs, as well as increase the efficiency of our rail systems. On Monday, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report laying out the dire climate crisis and the narrow window to keep climate related impacts from getting worse.
On the Build Back Better budget resolution’s climate investments, Murphy said: “It’s going to create millions of jobs while tackling the climate crisis. Come to Connecticut—we have renewable energy companies building jobs all over our country, but they're having to compete with other nations that are making big investments in climate, which are creating their own renewable energy economies. Somebody is going to capture millions and millions of jobs in wind and solar, and geothermal and electric cars. It should be the United States.”
On the importance of investing in community violence intervention programs, Murphy said: “If you take a look at what drives violence and exposure to violence in this country, the number one correlative factor is income. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to be the victim of violence. By investing in communities that have high rates of violence and not coincidentally, high rates of poverty, you are reducing violence in this nation. We have so many examples of programs like Project Longevity in New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, for example, that show when you wrap services around a small subset of at risk families and at risk young people, you can dramatically lower the rates of violence in this country.”
On the opportunity to transform our rail system, which will have economic benefits and help address the climate crisis, Murphy said: “[W]e’re making a big down payment in the bipartisan infrastructure bill—$66 billion for rail—and I hope to see an additional down payment in the budget reconciliation process. But investing in rail, it's kind of the holy grail because it creates short-term jobs as we rebuild our decrepit rail lines. It speeds up commutes for people—that just makes their lives better, more time with family. But it also creates a lot of economic development potential. Companies want to locate here when they can get their people faster from point A to point B. Boston to New York, Boston to D.C. is about half the distance as Beijing and Shanghai, but it takes twice the amount of time to get from those two spots in the United States, as it does in Asia. We're way behind the curve in investment in high speed rail, and that's hurting us economically.”
Murphy continued: “But of course, an investment rail is also about addressing the climate crisis because the only way to make a dent in transportation emissions is to move people out of cars, especially during the period of time in which we're ramping up the deployment of electric vehicles and get those individuals into trains, get people out of planes and into trains. Especially in a corridor like the Northeast where the trains are electrified, right? Where these are cleaner trains than in other parts of the country. We have a real opportunity if we get more people onto trains by investing in them to address the climate crisis.”
Murphy concluded: “Millionaires, billionaires and corporations are doing better than ever before in this country. Regular people are hurting. They want a government that's responsive to that. We need to address the huge costs people are having to pay today. We need to cut taxes for regular people. We need to create jobs, solve the climate crisis, and ask those that are doing very well, the top .1%, to pay their fair share.”
A full transcript of Murphy’s floor remarks on the Build Back Better budget resolution can be found below:
“I come to the floor today first to talk about the Build Back Better budget. This is an opportunity for this country to get it right. For far too long, millionaires, billionaires, corporations in this country have accrued more and more wealth, have paid less and less taxes while average Americans have seen the cost of living rise, their lives get more difficult, and Washington do virtually nothing about it. We're going to make a huge down payment in fixing that imbalance. The Build Back Better budget, which we will begin considering tomorrow—it's going to lower costs for Americans.
“We’re talking about the cost of Medicare, making sure that seniors get a benefit for things like vision and dental. Lower the cost for families like childcare costs. The presiding officer and I are amongst the few parents of relatively young school-aged children. We know the cost of childcare today. It can bankrupt families that don't have the incomes that we do. It's going to cut taxes for American families, but the right American families, people that are making $30,000, $60,000 a year. That's who needs a tax break—not the billionaires and the millionaires.
“It’s going to create millions of jobs while tackling the climate crisis. Come to Connecticut—we have renewable energy companies building jobs all over our country, but they're having to compete with other nations that are making big investments in climate, which are creating their own renewable energy economies. Somebody is going to capture millions and millions of jobs in wind and solar, and geothermal and electric cars. It should be the United States.
“And lastly, we're going to pay for this by asking the wealthy to pay their fair share, not more as a percentage of income than anybody else, but their fair share. We’ve got corporations, some of the biggest in America, that are paying virtually no taxes today. All of the wealth that's being accumulated by the CEOs of these massive internet companies, virtually untaxed. That has to change. That has to change. I'm excited to be a part of this process.
“As I said, we have the chance to tackle the climate crisis and create millions of new jobs. We can and have to do both. You saw the new report, challenging us, right? The facts are dire, with respect to what has already happened as this planet has warmed. But what that report says is that the next eight years are critical. The decisions we make in this decade will determine whether there is a livable planet for our children. That's our obligation, but here's our opportunity: create millions of new jobs. In Connecticut, we have solar companies, advanced battery companies, fuel cell companies that are just waiting for the U.S. government to create a market for their technologies in the way that so many other countries around the world are doing.
“We have the chance to invest in community violence intervention programs, and save lives. This is part of the Build Back Better agenda. President Biden has made it clear that if you want to tackle the epidemic of gun violence in this country, then you have to invest in communities in need. If you take a look at what drives violence and exposure to violence in this country, the number one correlative factor is income. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to be the victim of violence. By investing in communities that have high rates of violence and not coincidentally, high rates of poverty, you are reducing violence in this nation. We have so many examples of programs like Project Longevity in New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, for example, that show when you wrap services around a small subset of at risk families and at risk young people, you can dramatically lower the rates of violence in this country. And by the way, that puts people to work too, creating these investments in anti-violence programming.
“And then we have a chance to transform our rail system, and create jobs, speed up our commutes and address the climate crisis. And we're making a big down payment in the bipartisan infrastructure bill—$66 billion for rail—and I hope to see an additional down payment in the budget reconciliation process. But investing in rail, it's kind of the holy grail because it creates short-term jobs as we rebuild our decrepit rail lines. It speeds up commutes for people—that just makes their lives better, more time with family. But it also creates a lot of economic development potential. Companies want to locate here when they can get their people faster from point A to point B. Boston to New York, Boston to D.C. is about half the distance as Beijing and Shanghai, but it takes twice the amount of time to get from those two spots in the United States, as it does in Asia. We're way behind the curve in investment in high speed rail, and that's hurting us economically.
“But of course, an investment rail is also about addressing the climate crisis because the only way to make a dent in transportation emissions is to move people out of cars, especially during the period of time in which we're ramping up the deployment of electric vehicles and get those individuals into trains, get people out of planes and into trains. Especially in a corridor like the Northeast where the trains are electrified, right? Where these are cleaner trains than in other parts of the country. We have a real opportunity if we get more people onto trains by investing in them to address the climate crisis.
“So, Mr. President, I wanted to just spend a moment really telling my colleagues the both responsibility and opportunity that we have. Millionaires, billionaires and corporations are doing better than ever before in this country. Regular people are hurting. They want a government that's responsive to that. We need to address the huge costs people are having to pay today. We need to cut taxes for regular people. We need to create jobs, solve the climate crisis, and ask those that are doing very well, the top .1%, to pay their fair share.”
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