Political Quotes

“There is a lot of talk about bipartisanship in this body. Oftentimes, a bill will come to the floor, and you may hope that one party or the other might throw some votes your way or that you might get some last-minute votes. True bipartisanship is what has happened on this committee. I, Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member DeFazio, and Ranking Member Capuano have worked together to not only form a bipartisan bill but to actually educate every one of our Members. We want to talk to Members of both parties and now of even both Houses to make sure that we are actually reforming something that is going to create not only a more efficient system but create American jobs. I want to thank each of those individuals for their willingness not only to work together but to work hard. It takes a lot of time to set up separate meetings with every single one of your colleagues in order to explain all of the intricacies on such a large bill. In this case, we have done that. We saw bipartisan and unanimous support first out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last year and now, this year, again, unanimous support out of the Rules Committee on a bill for which we get real structural reform. After 35 years, this splits off the Northeast corridor. So, if you are riding the train on the Northeast corridor, your profits--the money that each rider is spending--will actually go back to fixing your rail.…”