Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, today I made an error in how I voted on rollcall 471, passage of H.R. 5730, the Surface Transportation Earmark Rescission, Savings, and Accountability Act. I intended to vote against this legislation and I would like to make the record clear as to why. For 50 years, my community in Buffalo and Western New York has long struggled with the vestiges of economic decline. The public has also been denied proper access to Buffalo's waterfront. This bill would rescind funding that would directly improve public access to the waterfront and support our community's economic revitalization. Providing public access to the waterfront has been my top goal throughout my career as a public servant. While I understand the frustration with project funding that was long ago authorized, yet remains unspent, and the need to focus on deficit reduction, I will continue to insist that the agencies responsible for the deployment of these funds advance these initiatives without further delay. It is for this very reason that I opposed and intended to vote against this bill.”