James Oberstar

Mr. Chairman, if this amendment isn't adopted, then there are communities in my district that are so remote that the only way to get there without air service is to be born there.

I introduced legislation. In fact, the Committee staff resurrected my testimony last year that I gave at our own Committee hearing in defense of my bill to implement this proposal.

We have included provisions that I think will substantially improve Essential Air Service particularly in this era of increasingly consolidation of airline operations and fewer airlines, fewer competitors.

I wish you great success in the mission to the Senate. It is missionary work when you go over there.

We are going to have a hearing in this Committee every 30 days.

I have to be an advocate for the public interest.

Whether they want to or not, they are going to provide the information to this Committee.

The payback needn't be measured strictly in electricity savings.

We have to make it clear to the international community that piracy is a matter of great concern to all seafaring nations and that it will not be tolerated, will not be taken lightly, and that mariners should not be in fear of their lives…

My amendment will be in order on the floor some time in the course of today and I expect it to pass.

I personally think it should be $60 billion for the surface transportation portion.

America's memory, however, is very short. As soon as gas prices went down, people started shifting to those big ugly SUVs.

I think it is time for us to look for the investment opportunity that will do for us in this century what the canals and transcontinental railroads did for the 19th century and what the highways did for the 20th.

Buy America is in every feature of our Committee's jurisdiction. It was reaffirmed in the stimulus initiative.

Clearly, more public money will be needed and we should seriously consider an increase in the Federal gas tax, which hasn't been raised in 16 years.

It does not make a great deal of sense for transit agencies, on the one hand, to buy new buses and, on the other hand, to lay off workers from their existing workforce.

$165 billion would build out the entire high-speed rail system for all 11 designated quarters.

I think our country too often operates in a culture of mediocrity.

There is now language in the stimulus initiative that builds on the provision of the current surface transportation law that provides $20 million for transportation and technology training under the DBE provisions of current law.

I am disappointed that we have this much money that we are doing in infrastructure.

I still believe we should have had the $5 billion at a minimum for stimulus.

So of the $9 billion that remains, we started with $12 billion and we are down to $9 billion for transit.

This incentive package is for real. It is going to happen, so get with it.

You place orders for transmissions, you place orders for brake assemblies, for air conditioning, for the steel framework for your bodies.

Congressman Cummings and Congresswoman Edwards have been a couple of steps ahead of you.