John Danforth: “I wish to join with other Senators in expressing my admiration for the work that Senator Ford has done in bringing this…”

“I wish to join with other Senators in expressing my admiration for the work that Senator Ford has done in bringing this legislation to the floor. This bill is a short-term fix for a very real problem, and the problem is the imminent needs of airports to proceed with construction, to have available to them construction funds that would be made available by the airport improvement program, and to get to work during the current construction season. If we waited for a longer-term authorization bill, we could be waiting through the year, and this was recognized by the chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Ford, and therefore we are bringing to the floor today a bill which lasts just 60 days, a 60-day authorization. It is my understanding that a permanent authorization bill will be brought to the floor of the Senate before the expiration of 60 days. This really is the concern of a lot of us I think, that the short-term authorization will be the end of it. It cannot be the end of it. We need a long-term authorization lasting at least 3 years so that airports can have a sense of what the future holds and so that they can make their plans and get on with the long-term work that they will have to be doing.”