Political Quotes

“Mr. President, last night, the Senate adopted the final version of a long term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. The process has been long and less than elegant as we worked through differences between the chambers, across parties and regional differences. I voted for the bill and am pleased that there is now more stable funding and policy to support our national aviation system. There are aspects of this bill that I do not agree with and would have done differently. The FAA authorization expired in October of 2007. For more than 4 years, we have been operating on short-term extensions--23 total short term extensions. The FAA, airlines and flying public all deserve a long-term authorization to provide certainty to our national aviation system. One reason I voted for this legislation is that it is a jobs bill. The FAA estimates commercial aviation is responsible for 5.2 percent of gross domestic product and generates $1.2 trillion in economic activity. The aviation industry provides $346 billion in earnings and 11 million jobs. And this bill will help grow those numbers. The funding provided in this bill will support 280,000 jobs. The economist Mark Zandi said, ``Aviation is the glue that keeps the global economy together.'' This bill will boost our economy now and keep the United States competitive in the global marketplace in the future. As importantly, this bill will improve the safety of our aviation system.…”