Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6414. I thank Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio for including the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program in the FAST Act. The FAST Act requires the Department of Transportation to use a negotiated rulemaking process to establish the regulations to implement the program. It also set deadlines for the issuance of the regulations. H.R. 6414 would extend these deadlines. This bill would ensure that there is an opportunity for a true negotiated rulemaking process that is not one-sided and that respects Tribal self-determination. Without this extension, I am concerned that the Department will move forward with implementing the program in a way that is not helpful to the Tribes of America. This would undermine the intent of the previous FAST Act and would lead to a lack of Tribal participation in the program. I thank the Sitka Tribe of Alaska for their leadership and work on this program and issue, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6414. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, if you look at how transportation funds are administered to the Tribes, first off, it is a pathetic and inadequate amount of money, given the infrastructure problems that the Tribes have. But then, that is true of infrastructure, writ large, across the United States of America.…”