the legislature for their support in this area, especially representative zorn, franz and senators colbeck and moolenaar. thank you. [ applause ] just as individuals cannot neglect their own health, the state cannot afford to neglect the health of our physical infrastructure. shortly a bipartisan package of bills will be introduced to create a systems of roads and bridges for the 21st century economy. one illustration of our current backward system is a road funding formula from 1951, over 60 years ago. even more important, studies have shown that we are underinvesting in our transportation infrastructure by upwards of $1.4 billion per year. now almost no one in michigan likes our road system. let's solve this problem. i urge the legislature to begin hearings on this important issue. [ applause ] now another persistent problem that we face is a lack of a truly regional transit system for southeastern michigan. we are working in partnership with the city of detroit, with the four surrounding counties and the u.s. department of transportation to develop a new