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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, joined Larry Kudlow on Fox Business today to discuss the latest on a bipartisan infrastructure package. Excerpts and the full video clip of the interview are below.
On the Highway Bill Proposed Last Congress:
“Well, Larry I think it serves as a perfect foundation. Not only did it pass with bipartisan support, it passed unanimously out of the [EPW] committee, the Ranking Democrat at the time, who is now the Chairman of the committee, Tom Carper is a good, solid guy. A reasonable person, prone to compromise and finding common ground. I think it serves as a great foundation for any highway bill, any transportation infrastructure bill.”
On Bipartisan Infrastructure Negotiations:
“I think every meeting that Republican members have had with the President has been a friendly meeting, cordial, attentive, and then basically ignored. What I sense, Larry, is that the Democrats have all the levers of power and they're not going to waste one second on negotiating with Republicans if they can help it. However, 50 senators is not much of a majority for them, so they're forced to work with people like Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, who are quite reasonable want to work across the aisle.”
On Paying for Infrastructure Using Funds from Previous Stimulus Packages:
“I certainly would, Larry. If you wanted to repurpose a trillion dollars of already appropriated money, appropriated for stimulating the economy, I can't think of a better way to spend it than to stimulate the economy with an asset has as its primary purpose the movement of the entire economy of our country. That is important for consumers as well as marketers. It’s important for oil, gas, food products, agricultural products, people. I think that would be a great way to do it without having to raise taxes and that would send an incredible signal to the marketplace. I think that would attract investment but you make another important point in your monologue there about the regulatory side of this as well. We can make that money go a lot further if we streamline the regulatory process so that it doesn't take four, five, eight, ten years, just to permit the building of a new highway.”
