KERRY L. BENTIVOLIO: “First I would like to thank the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Chairman Bill Shuster, and other members…”

“First I would like to thank the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Chairman Bill Shuster, and other members of the committee and their staff for working so hard on this bill. There are many good reforms in this legislation, and I applaud their efforts. However, while this bill initially deauthorizes $12 billion in old and inactive projects, most of those savings are simply moved to other projects. {time} 1645 Offsetting costs is always good, but we can do better. We should be looking for real savings and clearing out the backlog for the American people. While the bill sunsets some new authorizations to help curtail the backlog problem, much more needs to be done about the current backlog. I am a former teacher. When educators teach the basics of our system of government, we say ``the legislature creates the law and controls the purse.'' The fact of the matter is, Congress has not been in control of its purse for quite a while, and these outdated, backlogged projects, some almost 50 years old, prove just that. Simply put, there is just too much spending with little to no oversight or accountability. It needs to stop. Many of these projects were earmarks in previous water resources bills. There was not sufficient follow-up to make sure they were completed on time and under budget. For example, the 2007 bill had approximately $8 billion in additional projects and earmarks thrown in during conference.…”