Political Quotes

“I thank my colleagues. This particular mandate of the good Senator from Virginia is one that I don't like. He put in another mandate to increase funding for metropolitan planning organizations. If we could pass a Clear Skies bill, we wouldn't need to waste all that time on planning activities because we would clean up our air with a heavy restriction on utilities. That is a debate for another time. But just because there are too many mandates in this bill already does not justify keeping $900 million in State budgets out of transportation needs and putting it into storm water. Don't forget, as we have said, the States now can spend up to 20 percent of their STP and the National Highway System money on storm water cleanups. Granted, there are tremendous needs for cleaning up the water, wastewater and drinking water. We need to address those. I wish we could address them more generously in the water cleanup bills. But this is taking money away from the lifeblood of transportation lifesaving highway construction that we need in our States. Our mayors--in Missouri, the ones I have talked to--and community leaders are very strongly in favor of it. I guess the good Senator and I will have dueling charts showing how much money is set aside from the State budgets. We know the amounts set aside in the State budgets pale by comparison to the water needs, but the needs for highways go far beyond that in our States.…”