Cord Byrd: “And what about our Nation's infrastructure? Where will we get the money to restore the cuts proposed for clean water and…”

“And what about our Nation's infrastructure? Where will we get the money to restore the cuts proposed for clean water and safe drinking water, for the Corps of Engineers, and for school construction? Very often in this country, there seems to be nothing on our radar screen except the immediate, the here and now. We think no further than next week, next year or the next election. Where are we if our leaders fashion fiscal policy on such things, on such bases? Where are we as a Nation if the most vision we can muster is a colossal tax cut for the wealthy that may jeopardize such basics as our ability to ensure a clean water supply to all of our citizens? It is a hollow vision. It is a vision that appeals to greed. It is a vision that fails to ask us to pull together as Americans for the good of the whole country. It is a vision that sets up a patchwork quilt of a nation, with areas of prosperity next to areas of poverty. It is a vision that makes a hollow joke out of the word ``bipartisanship.'' It is a ``fold your hands,'' ``you do it'' vision, based on an ideology and an experiment that failed in the 1980's. Most people in West Virginia won't benefit from this tax cut, but they will suffer from the continued lack of investment in the basics. They are not by themselves. West Virginians won't be suffering alone. There will be others like them in every State of the Union. They don't want their money back. I am talking about my constituents.…”