Max Baucus: “in my view--and I think it is the view of the vast majority of the Members of the Senate and probably the majority of…”

“in my view--and I think it is the view of the vast majority of the Members of the Senate and probably the majority of Americans--this highway legislation is critical. It needs passing immediately. It is critical because our country so much depends upon our highways. The past highway legislation spent a good amount of money to help repair our roads, provide for new roads, bridges, and safety. We know the importance of our infrastructure system. This bill expired. We are now in an extension period. Because it expired, we desperately need to pass replacement legislation. It is also a jobs bill. This is a no-brainer. If we have lost--and nobody disputes this figure--a couple to 3 million jobs in this country in the last couple of years, we need to pass a bill that creates and provides jobs. That is a highway bill. It does not take much brain power to figure that one out. I urge our colleagues to get on with it and pass highway legislation. We should not let perfection be the enemy of the good. There may be one or two points--and they are not big points--that individual Senators may want to have in this bill, but we should not let that get in the way. We should pass this legislation. There are some Senators who say, oh, my gosh, this breaks the bank; it spends too much money. Respectfully, our President has suggested this is too expensive and spends too much money. There is even talk of a potential veto.”