On the recordMay 23, 2015
I will reserve the right to object at that point. Mr. President, in the interest of time--I know it is early in the morning--I would like to make a statement. I am not going to object to proceeding to this measure, but I would like to make a matter of record what I am sure the Senator from South Dakota already knows: that absent our action at this moment, the Federal highway program authority will expire May 31. We have just spent the better part of the evening contemplating the expiration of important law relative to our national security, and we have not resolved it. What is happening here, of course, is a request for a 60-day extension of the Federal highway program. I might say--and I am sure the Senator from South Dakota is well aware of this--this is the 33rd short-term extension of our Federal highway program. I think all of us understand that the program that once was considered to be the centerpiece of America's infrastructure and its economy has now deteriorated to the point where we are extending it for 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months at a time. Frankly, it does not serve our country and it doesn't serve our economy. It is a reflection on the lack of leadership by those who have the authority in committees and in the House and Senate to propose a measure that becomes a long-term highway program.…
