Remarks as Prepared: The Committee will please come to order.  We gather here this morning to examine once again the condition of our nation’s infrastructure and proposals for needed improvements to it.

When the Committee last gathered to examine this critical issue, we considered the perspectives from individuals who held expertise in public and private financing, civil engineering, labor, and business.  They were unanimous in voicing compelling support for increased investment in our nation’s infrastructure and for the need to develop and implement alternative ways to finance this critically important investment in our nation’s future.

Remarks as Prepared: The Committee will please come to order.  We gather this morning at an extraordinary and perilous moment in our nation’s history. The landscape of our nation’s economy has been radically re-shaped by the United States government over the course of just a few days and in a totally ad hoc manner.  Companies that form the foundation of our financial markets are shrinking and disappearing practically overnight.  Their insatiable appetite for risk has permeated all sectors of the financial services industry, and has spread beyond our shores.  It has felled giants like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers; brought others to their knees like Merrill Lynch, A.I.G., Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac; prompted the largest thrift failure in our history – IndyMac Bank; and eliminated the final two independent investment banks – Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

Prepared Remarks: Last month’s war between Russia and Georgia began in the small region of South Ossetia, but it cast a shadow that crosses continents.  In the aftermath of the conflict, the United States and our allies face serious new challenges.