Infrastructure bill too important to be held hostage by politics
Perhaps you drive daily on some of the 5,000 miles of roads in Ohio classified as badly in need of repair. Maybe you travel across some of the state’s 22,000 bridges which engineers have graded as in “poor” condition. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave Ohio’s roads a D in its 2021 infrastructure report card.
Maybe your drinking water comes from a river or lake that’s been deemed unsafe. Or you’re slowing losing your infant or child’s health due to lead pipe poisoning. The American Water Works Association reports that Ohio has the second-largest number of drinking water lead pipes among all states. Lead from water pipes also causes increased blood pressure, decreased kidney function and reproductive problems, according to the EPA.
These deficiencies, and many others, were addressed in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.2 trillion bill which passed the U.S. Senate by a 69-30 vote on Aug. 10. Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown both supported it.
Today, it languishes in the House of Representatives. Why?
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
decided that Democratic Party unity over a much larger, nonpartisan bill is more important than taking action on infrastructure legislation .
Are bridge failures, worsening roads or more kids getting permanently ill from poisoned water something we’re now willing to accept, while leaders play political Russian roulette with our nation and state’s infrastructure?
Each day’s delay can be deadly to Ohioans.
John Kerezy, Cuyahoga Falls