Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying bill. House Resolution 669 provides a closed rule, as is customary for bills that are reported by the Committee on Ways and Means, for H.R. 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014. On July 10, the Ways and Means Committee marked up H.R. 5021. The committee ordered the bill favorably reported by voice vote. The bill is simple. It extends our transportation programs and our reforms enacted by MAP-21, and it pays for the extension without raising taxes on hardworking American taxpayers. This extension is crucial. Prior to the expiration of MAP-21 later this fall, the highway trust fund is expected to encounter a funding shortfall. The Secretary of Transportation has warned that, as early as August, payments from the trust fund to the States will begin to be delayed. Let's be clear: this bill is just an interim remedy for our current situation. It is not a solution to our transportation funding problem. As a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I can testify to the work that Chairman Shuster and the committee are doing to provide a multiyear authorization bill. It is a deliberative, thoughtful process. The underlying bill advances that process. The underlying bill proposes policies that have previously received bipartisan support. Further, these policies have previously also been embraced by the Senate.…”