Political Quotes

“``Disgrace'' is a strong word from my friend; but I would say that, if there is disappointment in this institution, it is that the Ways and Means Committee, with the sole jurisdiction over funding transportation, has failed under both Republican and Democratic leadership to provide long-term transportation funding. The gentleman serves on that committee. I don't. I welcome his support on the steering committee if I try to make that move. It is not easy, Mr. Speaker, to find that transportation funding, and the gentleman made a passionate pitch in the Rules Committee last night about the importance of keeping the user fee dynamic at play here. Mr. Speaker, there was a time when the transportation bill was pushed by folks back home, not because they needed transportation certainty, as they so desperately need today, but because the local jurisdiction was only getting back about 80 cents out of every gas tax dollar they were sending in. They wanted to push that number up to 81 or to 82. It brought us all together around pushing a bill. When we decided we didn't have the courage in the United States Congress--I was not in this institution at that time--to actually fund what it was that we had paid for, we began taking money out of general revenues and just stuffing it in the transportation trust fund.…”