I have joined 42 senators, 21 Republicans and 20 Democrats and 1 Independent, in asking the Select Committee to go big.

If we just did it straight up, either through a gas tax or a vehicle mile, or the 10 other proposals that are on the table, the long-term benefit to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to the taxpayers of Massachusetts, to the people of…

I am not for overregulation.

I see the economic crisis having been--no one person or one group is to blame. It is all of us, if you want the truth.

So for me, regulations are about saying, 'Here is the line. Nobody can cross it. And therefore everybody is on an equal playing field.'

I think those funds were being used for public purposes. And they have now been diverted to essentially private purposes by building up the capital of the banks.

It appears what we have here is we don't have the demand because the economy is not growing.

I have personally seen options where the only way that a bank could lend money to a small business owner... is they have to put up a hundred percent cash as collateral.

It is not that I see too much liquidity. I see too many people sitting by the sidelines.

You are telling me that it is not a result of the FHLB policy; it is a result of the market?

I think the Home Loan Banks do an excellent job overall. And I just want to say thank you on behalf of my constituents and myself for what you have done.

At the same time, I won't speak for my colleagues but I have heard it from numerous Members of Congress, including myself, I hear it all the time, particularly from small businesses, that they can't get access to the capital that they need.

Recognize that the success of dedicated funding, financing methodologies, and partnerships are all dependent on the identification and stability of long-term supporting revenue streams.

I happen to think that, no matter what the number is, I think our infrastructure system is crumbling, and we are turning into a Third World country over time.

Do people on this panel think that we need more money into the Highway Trust Fund?

Bottom line is we are here today to discuss an option because we haven't got the courage or the fortitude to do what we have to do, which is to increase revenues.

Does anybody here think that it is good to simply deny our obligations, to say, 'We don't really need this,' or, 'We don't have the courage to pay for it now, we will let somebody else pay for it later'?

Is there anybody on the panel that disagrees with the statement that we need to put more money into our national infrastructure needs?