Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, exempt facility bonds are special tax-exempt financing instruments designed to help raise funds for important infrastructure projects like airports, waste management facilities, highways, and other transportation needs. In fact our current law, 26 U.S.C. Section 142, clearly lists 15 specific categories of projects that can receive financing through the use of exempt facility bonds. One area where the law restricts the ability of the Department of Transportation to authorize exempt facility bonds is to finance passenger rail, which it limits to high-speed rail that can reasonably attain the speed of 150 miles per hour between stops. Yet the Department of Transportation has decided to ignore the law and authorize bonds for projects that clearly do not qualify. Whatever views Members have on passenger rail, my amendment would simply ensure that the Department of Transportation follows the law in authorizing the use of tax-exempt bonds, and I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.”