James M. Jeffords: “as we prepare to give the final approval to the highway bill conference report I would like to thank Chairman Inhofe and…”

“as we prepare to give the final approval to the highway bill conference report I would like to thank Chairman Inhofe and Senators Bond and Baucus and all of the Senators and staff who have helped to move this bill forward. The bill we are about to vote on is good for the Nation. This bill will save lives by making our roads safer. This bill will reduce traffic congestion by making our roads and bridges more efficient. This bill will boost local economies by creating hundreds of thousands of jobs across the Nation. It may have taken us 3 long years to get here, but the impact of this bill will be felt for decades to come. This bill will affect every American in some way. This bill provides the biggest investment in our roads, highways, bridges and transit systems in our nation's history. Once again I thank Chairman Inhofe and all the members of the EPW Committee for their work. Madam President, I would like to take one brief moment to thank the staff who have worked so hard to help craft this highway bill. On my staff I would like to thank my staff director, Ken Connolly; J.C. Sandberg, Alison Taylor, Malia Somerville, Cara Cookson, Catherine Cyr Ransom, Chris Miller, Mary-Francis Repko, Geoff Brown and Jeff Munger. From Senator Baucus's staff, Kathy Ruffalo-Farnsworth; From Senator Inhofe's staff, Ruth Van Mark, Andy Wheeler and James O'Keefe; And from Senator Bond's staff, Ellen Stein.…”