Political Quotes

“I first want to commend Chairman Olver and Ranking Member Latham and the other members of the subcommittee for putting forth a good bill which makes wise investments in our Nation's transportation systems, our housing industry, and our urban development, investments which will go a long way toward helping America return to a prosperous future. But today I offer an amendment which saves the American people $50 million by cutting a Federal grant program which few States, if any, will participate in this year. It's a small step toward deficit reduction, but it is a wise step. I want to say at the onset I support every man, woman, and child using seatbelts. They save lives and reduce health care costs. Most States have done the right thing and passed laws which make it a traffic violation to not wear a seatbelt. This means if a law enforcement officer sees someone in a car not wearing a seatbelt, they can pull that person over just for that offense. The Safety Belt Performance Grant program this year will spend up to $124.5 million as incentives for States to pass such laws. Thirty-seven States and territories already have those laws. They've already received their one-time payments under the program. But for the remaining States, the incentive program generally does not seem to be attractive or workable.”