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Infrastructure forms the foundation of the U.S. economy. Without highways, power grids, railroads, dams, levees, and water systems, businesses could not transport their goods, homes would be without electricity or drinkable water, parents could not get their kids to school, and the United States would cease to be a world leader in productivity and innovation. But despite our infrastructure’s clear indispensability, decades of negligence and underinvestment have allowed much of it to fall into a shameful state of disrepair.
Inefficiencies in our infrastructure affect all aspects of American life. Commuters on our highways now lose more than $100 billion every year in time spent and fuel burned due to ever-increasing congestion on their way to and from work. U.S. ports are struggling to handle increased ship sizes and cargo volumes. Lock systems on inland waterways are crumbling, causing tens of thousands of hours of delays every year. And leaking pipes lose an estimated 7 billion gallons of clean drinking water every day. Together, these failures jeopardize public health, contribute to environmental degradation, and make American businesses less competitive, forcing them to pass additional costs on to consumers.
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