Cord Byrd: “Come one, come all. This rock will fly from its firm base as soon as I. Mr. President, the distinguished Senator from…”

“Come one, come all. This rock will fly from its firm base as soon as I. Mr. President, the distinguished Senator from Rhode Island has made some comments questioning the fact that people in this country--I think it is a fact--the people in this country go to the gas pump and buy gasoline under the impression that their tax money goes into the highway trust fund and that it comes back to meet their transportation needs. Was the Senator here in 1956? I was here in 1956. I was here and I supported President Eisenhower's interstate system. I was here. My wife was buying gas at the pump then. In 1956, Congress created that highway trust fund. She was buying gas at the gas pump then, and the people were told that the gas tax was going into the trust fund tax, and that money was going to be used for highways. And so for over 40 years the American people have believed that their money that they were spending at the gas tank, that portion that was the Federal tax, was going into the highway trust fund. That is no Alice in Wonderland story. That is no make-believe story. That has been a fact. I voted for it 41 years ago. In 1990, it was diverted. That is when it was diverted, 1990. I was here. I voted for that. I went over to those long meetings that we had with Mr. Sununu and Mr. Darman and Mr. Domenici and I guess Mr. Warner was there, Mr. Hatfield was there. Anyhow, Senators on both sides of the aisle were there. And we came up with a package. Yes, we diverted it.”