Chuck Grassley: “I want to address the consideration that the Senate Finance Committee gave to the portion of the highway bill that…”

“I want to address the consideration that the Senate Finance Committee gave to the portion of the highway bill that determines the size of the trust fund, source of the trust fund, and our committee's decisionmaking over that. And my speaking to the Senate is based on the proposition, thus far, that we are moving ahead with the total highway package the way that has been suggested by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Senate Banking Committee, and the Senate Commerce Committee, with my committee working in cooperation with those three committees, at that level of expenditure. Somehow, if the President, in succeeding days, would say he is not going to sign a bill that is that big, I will moderate my remarks to conform with that. But right now, all I know is what this body has done in three of its committees to arrive at where we are now. I want to address, within that framework and that environment, the work of our committee. I will particularly speak about some other Members of this body who lack a consideration of the hard work that has been put into this product, as well as their philosophical objections to what we have done. I don't have any question that any Senator can have any philosophical objections to anything he wants, but I want everybody in the Senate to know that the 21 members of the Senate Finance Committee did not take this product lightly.”