In Commerce Hearing, Tester Confirms Need for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Help Solve Supply Chain Crisis

Coastal Automotive CEO Paul Doyle stresses urgency, optimism for long term solution with Tester’s infrastructure legislation

In a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing this week addressing the challenges posed by ocean shipping supply chains, U.S. Senator Jon Tester confirmed the urgent need for his bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in order to ease strain on the supply chain and ultimately lower costs for Montana businesses and families.

“So I’ve got a question for you Mr. Doyle … If you were king for a day, what would you do, to solve this problem,” Tester asked Coastal Automotive CEO Paul Doyle.

“What I have to do every day is look at my employees and talk to them about wages, and unemployment issues, and lower bonuses, and less opportunity for training,” said Doyle. “And why is that? Well part of it is because there’s a backup in the system … but if I were king for the day, the first thing I would do is create a sense of urgency by getting these things done. The second thing if I were king for the day, is … upgrade our infrastructure to support manufacturing for the long term. I think that the infrastructure bill gets at a lot of those things.”

Throughout the hearing Tester sought solutions to the current supply chain issues, stressing the importance of lowering costs for Montana families and small businesses. Prior to questioning Doyle, Tester spoke about the shipping solutions created by his bipartisan infrastructure law through railway improvements, and the urgent need to distribute that funding.

Tester worked across the aisle for months to negotiate his bipartisan infrastructure law with a group of five Republicans, four Democrats, and the White House, and he was the only member of Montana’s congressional delegation to vote for it. Tester’s law is projected to create more than 800,000 American jobs and lower costs for businesses by making targeted investments that will strengthen our nation without raising taxes on working families.

Tester made sure that the legislation does not raise taxes. He secured significant wins for Montana in the legislation, including $2.82 billion for Montana’s roads, highways and bridges; up to $100 million for the Milk River Project and $1 billion to complete all authorized rural water projects through the Bureau of Reclamation; $65 billion for high speed internet deployment and affordability in low-connectivity areas across the country; and $3.37 billion to reduce wildfire risk nationwide, among others. Tester also worked to ensure that all iron, steel, and construction materials used for these projects must be made in America.

A list of the legislation’s provisions can be found HERE.

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