Richard Shelby: “I hope we can get together in the hours to come and try to put a package together, perhaps, and move this bill. This is…”

“I hope we can get together in the hours to come and try to put a package together, perhaps, and move this bill. This is an important bill in America for highways and transit. It affects everybody in America. It affects every Congressman's district, every Senator, and I think it is too important to ignore in any way. I commend the senior Senator from Oklahoma, the chairman of the committee, for the work he has done. He has been pushing this highway bill--I know because he has been pushing me--for months and months. I do not know how many hours of work he and his staff have put in, along with Senator Jeffords, Senator Bond, and others. This is just too important. It affects so many Americans. It covers everything dealing with our infrastructure, and it will be good for the economy. The Presiding Officer comes from one of the fastest growing States in the United States. Moving people in his State, as well as a lot of others, is very important. There has to be lead time to plan. I believe this is a good bill, considering everything. We have put it together in a bipartisan way in the Banking Committee where we, as well as the other committee, have authorization for transit. I stand ready to work with the principals to move this bill as soon as possible.”