Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding and appreciate the work of the chairman and ranking member. I rise in support of this legislation. It is not what I would have if I was chairman. It is not what Mr. DeFazio would have as chairman, but it is what we have got. We need infrastructure in this country now. The last big infrastructure bill we passed, Jim Oberstar and myself, was $286 billion. We darn near did that unanimously. It was the biggest one. But from that time on, we have not raised the money, nor have we put what I call the where-for-all in the hands to build roads and airports and all of the other things, all of the ports. Transportation is the economy of this great Nation, and we have fallen behind. Even in those days when I was chairman, I said we needed a trillion dollars, and people laughed at me. But the fact of the matter is, we did need it. We need this bill to make sure that we have an economic base for the future generations of this great Nation. Would I have done it this way? No. I would have said: ``Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Graves, members of the committee, let's write a bill together with the Senate.'' We don't have that chance. This is the last opportunity we have to make sure those potholes are filled, those airports are run right, the bridges are safe, and our economy can continue to grow. This is the only chance we have. To my colleagues who are voting ``no,'' I say: Think about it. What is the other alternative?…”