--- title: Why Congress Must Pass a Robust Infrastructure Package description: Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey and Congressman David E. Price on why Congress needs to invest in infrastructure immediately. canonical: https://time.com/5682617/federal-infrastructure-funding/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-09-20T19:47:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T12:46:02.944Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Neglecting Our Roads, Bridges and Ports Puts Us All at Risk og:description: So why is nothing being done to fix our infrastructure? og:url: https://time.com/5682617/federal-infrastructure-funding/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7035664724e8908/698a034116d8841a41c3701a/holland-tunnel.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: New Jersey Turnpike in Jersey City, New Jersey og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Neglecting Our Roads, Bridges and Ports Puts Us All at Risk twitter:description: So why is nothing being done to fix our infrastructure? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7035664724e8908/698a034116d8841a41c3701a/holland-tunnel.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Neglecting Our Roads, Bridges and Ports Puts Us All at Risk. So Why Is Nothing Being Done to Fix Our Infrastructure? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Nita M. Lowey](https://time.com/author/nita-m-lowey/) and [David E. Price](https://time.com/author/david-e-price/) Sep 20, 2019 7:47 PM UTC  Cars pass through a toll plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike on August 29, 2019 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Unless the federal government starts making major investments, the dire infrastructure needs of our nation will only get worse, says Reps. Nita M. Lowey and David E. Price. Cars pass through a toll plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike on August 29, 2019 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Unless the federal government starts making major investments, the dire infrastructure needs of our nation will only get worse, says Reps. Nita M. Lowey and David E. Price. Gary Hershorn—Corbis via Getty Images by [Nita M. Lowey](https://time.com/author/nita-m-lowey/) and [David E. Price](https://time.com/author/david-e-price/) Sep 20, 2019 7:47 PM UTC When it comes to infrastructure, Washington is stuck in its own version of “Groundhog Day.” The Trump Administration has for years promised a [“great national infrastructure program,”](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/23/us/trump-infrastructure-program.html) yet has pushed the issue to the back burner [again and again and again.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/20/what-happened-all-trumps-infrastructure-weeks-trump-happened/) We can no longer afford to remain in this infrastructure time loop. More than 47,000 of America’s bridges are [“structurally deficient.”](https://artbabridgereport.org/reports/2019-ARTBA-Bridge-Report.pdf) Nearly 20 percent of the nation’s roads are in [poor condition](https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/its-time-for-states-to-invest-in-infrastructure). The majority of our port infrastructure is [insufficient to accommodate](https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Ports-Final.pdf) the increasingly large ships that help drive U.S. competitiveness. In addition to financial risks, America’s neglected infrastructure continues to threaten public safety. This isn’t surprising when you consider that federal infrastructure investment as a percentage of gross domestic product has [declined](https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44896.pdf) in recent decades, dropping to less than 0.1% of GDP in 2016\. Meanwhile, the American Society of Civil Engineers [expects](https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Full-2017-Report-Card-FINAL.pdf) a $2 trillion infrastructure funding gap over the next decade. If it isn’t addressed, this gap will cause the U.S. economy [to lose](https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/the-impact/economic-impact/) almost $4 trillion in GDP between now and 2025. Making investments to close this gap and build modern, resilient infrastructure should be an area where we can reach bipartisan agreement. Infrastructure [benefits](https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44896.pdf) families and businesses across the country, as well as the larger economy, by lowering costs, providing services like water and energy to homes and boosting long-term economic growth through increased productivity. Every dollar invested in infrastructure [generates](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brt.org/staging-qeOOpdhhbbqqq3/2015.09.16-InfrastructureReport-Final.pdf) up to three dollars in economic growth. Infrastructure investment makes transportation and housing safer by, for example, improving dangerous bridges and rail crossings and rehabilitating aging housing stock that have elevated risk for carbon monoxide poisoning or contain lead, mold or other serious health hazards. These investments also ensure energy products like crude oil and liquid natural gas are transported safely, reducing the risk of life-threatening disasters and keeping communities safe. With tens of thousands of [traffic fatalities](https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Roads-Final.pdf) every year, the deployment of autonomous systems across all modes of transport, and lead and carbon monoxide hazards all reinforce the obvious fact that the federal government can no longer punt on investing in infrastructure. Major projects – including the Gateway rail and tunnel project in New York and New Jersey – only grow more expensive when we needlessly delay necessary repairs and improvements. As members of the House Appropriations Committee, we’re working to secure these necessary infrastructure investments. In June, the U.S. House passed [appropriations legislation](https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY2020%20THUD%20Filed%20Bill%20-%20HR%203163.pdf) for fiscal year 2020 that provides a down payment of $137 billion for transportation and housing infrastructure, including $76 billion in new discretionary resources and [$61 billion from dedicated trust funds](https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY20%20Approps%20Bills%20Infrastructure%20v2.pdf). The legislation not only boosts funding above authorized levels for roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports and aviation, it lays the groundwork to build infrastructure that can better withstand the impacts of climate change.. To date, Senate Republicans have [balked](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-bipartisan-infrastructure-plan-already-imperiled-as-mulvaney-gop-lawmakers-object-to-cost/2019/05/03/bc1d1e74-6dae-11e9-be3a-33217240a539%5Fstory.html) at a robust infrastructure package over cost – a concern nowhere to be found when they passed the Republican tax law, which will add an [estimated](https://thehill.com/policy/finance/382319-gop-tax-law-will-add-19-trillion-to-debt-cbo) [$1.9 trillion to the national debt](https://www.cbo.gov/publication/53787) while [doing little](https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20190522%5FR45736%5F8a1214e903ee2b719e00731791d60f26d75d35f4.pdf) for economic growth. Repairing and improving our infrastructure remains one of the top challenges facing our nation. It’s also an area ripe for bipartisan cooperation. For the sake of our economy, quality of life and international competitiveness, Congress and the administration must make significant infrastructure investments now before a bad situation gets even worse. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5682617/federal-infrastructure-funding/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5682617/federal-infrastructure-funding/"},"headline":"Neglecting Our Roads, Bridges and Ports Puts Us All at Risk. So Why Is Nothing Being Done to Fix Our Infrastructure?","datePublished":"2019-09-20T19:47:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:46:02.944Z","description":"Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey and Congressman David E. 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