María Elvira Salazar: “before discussing my amendment, allow me to commend the work of Senator Jeffords and Senator Inhofe and their staffs for…”

“before discussing my amendment, allow me to commend the work of Senator Jeffords and Senator Inhofe and their staffs for their work on this very important bill for the people of America. It is good work, and it is about the people's business. This is a vitally important bill on a vitally important topic. Without their efforts, we would not be where we are today. I look forward to the day when we can have a transportation bill passed that we can send to the President for his signature, hopefully very soon. I also wish to say that I am glad we are taking this bill up at this time because the last Congress was not able to get it through. We are hopeful this time around that we will be able to succeed. This is an issue which I believe is at the top of the concerns of people throughout the country. In my travels throughout the State of Colorado, county commissioners, mayors, and local people tell me time and time again that moving forward with the reauthorization of the Transportation Act is something we should do and we should do as soon as possible. The amendment that I have proposed addresses a problem that faces many of our States across our country, particularly those States that have many miles of rural roads and bridges. Ensuring that rural areas receive adequate funding to fix the increasing number of structurally deficient bridges in rural America is a priority. I know it is a challenge in Oklahoma, and I know it is a challenge in Vermont.…”