WASHINGTON, D.C. — The mayor of Akron made his pitch to U.S. senators on Tuesday for why money for housing should be included in an infrastructure package.
What You Need To Know
- Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan talked infrastructure before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Tuesday
- Horrigan made the case for infrastructure dollars to go toward housing
- Democrats support an expansive infrastructure package
- Republicans want a narrower bill that focuses mostly on roads and bridges
Mayor Daniel Horrigan called Akron a “legacy city” that is slowly figuring out its future after experiencing an industrial boom and bust.
As Congress negotiates what to include in an infrastructure deal, the mayor told members of the Senate committee that money to make housing more affordable and accessible is critical to helping build his city up again.
“All other infrastructure, whether it be water meters, roads, electrical lines, broadband fiber, sewers, ultimately connect to houses,” Horrigan testified.
His pitch for Akron is part of a broader effort by President Joe Biden and Democrats to pass an expansive infrastructure package that not only tackles roads and bridges, but housing and child care too.
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) chaired Tuesday’s hearing.
“We became the world’s largest economy with the strongest middle class because we came together to invest in great national projects that joined us all together as one country,” Brown said.
Republicans argued a wider definition of infrastructure would lead to wasteful spending and potentially hurt the economy as it rebounds from the pandemic.
“The scope and size of the administration’s infrastructure plan as proposed at this point is simply untenable,” Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) said. “Housing is not infrastructure. Housing is housing.”
During the virtual hearing, Horrigan and two other Democratic mayors said the federal government can be a strategic partner in helping improve their cities by investing in infrastructure.
But a Republican county commissioner from Pennsylvania had a different message.
“Rather than sending out more money, the better solution would be to get government fully out of the way and let the economy come roaring back,” said Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons.
In an interview with Spectrum News after the hearing, Horrigan proposed a compromise of giving local leaders flexibility to use federal dollars for infrastructure needs tailored to their communities.
“I can respect that vision about getting out of the way, but maybe I need to do a little bit more on that market side,” Horrigan said. “Allow me the flexibility to do that.”
His message to lawmakers was cities like Akron need help, and the federal government could be a great partner.
