Every GOP Member Voted Against Long-Overdue Water Projects, Improvements in Roads and Bridges, Funding for Veterans, Colleges and Universities
ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Thursday, Senate Republicans unanimously voted against the infrastructure and jobs bill that would have delivered $1.5 billion for local jobs and infrastructure projects throughout the state.
Capital Investment Chair Senator Sandra Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) and Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic (DFL-Minneapolis) said that by blocking the bill, Republicans deprived communities across the state of badly-needed investment in roads and bridges; clean water projects; money to support veterans’ facilities; funding for colleges and universities; and flood mitigation efforts. The bill easily passed the House with votes from 21 Republican representatives.
“After all the time and bipartisan effort that went into putting this bill together, I am disappointed that Senate Republicans have again chosen to deprive Minnesotans of the infrastructure projects they desperately need,” said Senator Pappas. “In the Capitol Investment Committee, we heard testimony from dozens of mayors and city managers from across Minnesota, asking the Senate to do its part to fund their desperately-needed projects. I spoke with nearly every one of my Republican colleagues in the Senate, one-on-one, to discuss the projects in their districts that their constituents have asked for. These projects would provide clean drinking water, fix crumbling wastewater facilities, repair and update classrooms across college campuses, and create thousands of well-paying construction jobs for Minnesotans. Our alternative is to move forward with an all-cash bill, which forces difficult decisions as to which projects we can afford to fund and cuts into the tax relief that Republicans chosen as their excuse to block a bonding bill that would bring jobs and economic development across that.”
“I am deeply disappointed that not a single Senate Republican voted for jobs and economic development today. When they voted down the bonding bill, they deprived large and small communities of badly-needed investment in our roads and bridges, funding for clean water and flood mitigation, support for our veterans, and for infrastructure that supports our colleges and universities across the state,” said Majority Leader Dziedzic. “Minnesotans have waited many years for a bonding bill, and they understand that these projects are only going to get more expensive the longer we wait. Senate Republicans have now told communities that that they have to wait longer to get them done. Let’s be clear, Republicans had a chance to create jobs and economic development in communities across Minnesota and they voted it down.”
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