Max Baucus: “I rise to discuss a subject of great importance to Montana, my home State, and also to me personally. That is the…”

“I rise to discuss a subject of great importance to Montana, my home State, and also to me personally. That is the subject of the proposal to cut the gas tax by 4.3 cents over the rest of the year. I am reminded of a comment made by the great Irish conservative thinker, Edmund Burke, in reflections on the revolution of France where he said: Among an infinite number of acts of violence, of folly, some good may be done. They who destroy everything certainly will remove some grievance. They who make everything new have a chance that they may establish something beneficial. That is about where we stand today with the 104th Congress. The Congress is approaching its close. The present-day revolutionaries are getting ready to put on their hot tar and feathers and mount up on the rail to be ridden out of town. Behind them will remain a rather weird legacy: Government shutdowns, attempts to repeal the Clean Air Act, weaken protection of our lakes and streams, slash student loan programs and cut school lunches, and radical experiments with $270 billion Medicare cuts. But hidden away in this mess are a few good things--a few grievances removed, a small number of beneficial things established. They are hard to find, but over the next 5 months or so, we need to dig them out, pass them and get them up to the President to sign. It is a tough job, but today we have found one of them, and that is repeal of the gas tax. Folks are hurting at home.…”