On the recordJune 29, 2012
As I have said during previous debates on short-term transportation extensions, our national infrastructure is aging, stable construction jobs are lacking, unemployment lingers about 8 percent nationally and a little over 9 percent in Florida. Regrettably, that remains the case today, many short-term extensions later. However, unlike the past, the House and Senate have come together to offer a glimmer of certainty to try to address these problems. A long-term, multiyear highway reauthorization is critical to rebuilding our Nation's infrastructure, reforming antiquated and inefficient transportation programs, strengthening our economy, and creating jobs. A long-term authorization also provides for certainty and stability necessary for the transportation industry to contain costs through long-term planning. This agreement, while not perfect, is long overdue. It will begin to chip away at the bloated bureaucracy which defines our Federal transportation system. It will create jobs and it will promote economic activity in our local communities, all without adding to the deficit. For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in favor of this rule. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
