Political Quotes

“I rise to express my deep appreciation to my colleagues Senators Stabenow and Brown and to the majority leader for the bipartisan work that was done to remove a harmful and economically costly financing provision from the bill that is currently before this body. I had significant concerns with a provision in the pending highway bill which could have impaired the economic recovery in my home State of Michigan and in States across our country. I am a strong supporter of programming to invest in our Nation's infrastructure, and much of the substance of this bill is absolutely essential. I applaud the work that has been done on a bipartisan basis to achieve a compromise, something that happens too little in Washington. While I believe Congress must make smart investments in our Nation's roads, bridges, and infrastructure, I also believe we must do so in a responsible way that does not hamper the economic recovery occurring in our States. There are numerous financing policy alternatives available to lawmakers to fund infrastructure investments, but the drafters of this legislation originally chose to pay for infrastructure investments, in part, by asking some of the hardest hit communities in our Nation and in my State to bear the burden in order to help pay for the infrastructure investments contained in this bill.…”