James Oberstar: “I assure you, when we do the long-term transportation bill, this element will be a part of it.”

The gentleman from Washington is mistaken in his understanding or his reading of the amendment that I offer. It's an amendment to OPA. It is not an amendment to the dollar amounts and does not reference dollar amounts. Under OPA, of which…

It is better for us to pass this bill now to address the substantive issue, release of funds from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, and not delay progress in cleanup.

The Highway Trust Fund, based chiefly on the gasoline tax, will never again be adequate to fund even ongoing maintenance of our roads and bridges.

the efforts of Federal agencies can overlap and at times conflict, and currently, there is no body within the Executive branch to provide substantive coordination or, if necessary, resolution of disagreements among agencies to ensure…