Political Quotes

“Madam President, reserving the right to object, I would ask unanimous consent that the request be further modified to include my amendment No. 2639, and my amendment is very simple. It requires a public price tag to be put on projects funded with taxpayer dollars by the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation. It allows taxpayers to see exactly how their dollars are being spent, whether it is on an airport, a bridge, or any other project. Congress has renewed the provision--referred to as the Stevens Amendment--annually for more than 30 years for some Federal Agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor. It was most recently approved by Congress and signed into law as part of both the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021. The infrastructure bill we are now considering will finance many projects across the country. My amendment would provide some much needed transparency for taxpayers by showing what projects are being funded with their tax dollars and the actual costs associated with them. In practice, my amendment requires nothing more than a single sentence disclosing the dollar amount paid by taxpayers and what that amount represents of the overall percentage of the project's budget. The only reason to oppose this commonsense transparency is if there is something to hide. I urge the consideration of my amendment and ask that my colleagues vote yes.…”