Ray LaHood

We need to think outside the box.

The President personally put $8 billion in the recovery plan for high speed rail to launch our opportunities in America.

That is the kind of innovative thinking we need to be doing with transit districts.

You need that transportation.

America's transportation systems are the lifeblood of our economy.

I believe very strongly in transit oriented development and land use policies that promote livable communities.

Investing in transportation has a good return on investment, will create jobs and stimulate the economy.

Preserving, renewing and reinvesting in our nation's transportation infrastructure is absolutely and inextricably linked to the economic well being of our nation.

I think we have the ability to do it. We should not let the bureaucracy get in the way of creative, innovative ideas being carried out in as expeditious a way as possible.

I mean, they are hurting. They can ill afford to pay the drivers of their buses and to keep the doors open.

I am open to this idea. If we provide money to buy all these buses and you don't have people to drive them or run the organizations, it is counterproductive.

We are not going to become a national zoning department.

This is a big, big priority for us.

I think there is a commitment from the White House that we have to get to NextGen.

The President has appointed about as good an FAA administrator as we can have to get to NextGen.

There simply is not enough money in the Highway Trust Fund to do what we need to do.

Transportation is vital to the health of our economy and the American way of life.

We must think creatively as we search for sustainable funding mechanisms.

We are not going to raise the gasoline tax. I will say that emphatically. We can't.

We don't want them down and out for the count.

That is a big, serious issue that you have to resolve, and I will be glad to sit down at anytime and get that behind us.

I have no problem with the provisions for compulsory arbitration.

I think we have to be fair to the men and women who serve us as air traffic controllers.

It is difficult, if not impossible, when you don't have one or you have one acting who is being held hostage for political reasons, which is totally unacceptable.

That is totally unacceptable.