Bud Shuster: “My colleague from Oregon makes a good point. We are not spending the kind of dollars--at least, we are not spending…”

“My colleague from Oregon makes a good point. We are not spending the kind of dollars--at least, we are not spending wisely the kind of dollars, I would also add to that--to fix our infrastructure problem. But we do face more difficult times today than we did when we set up the fund in the 1950s or even in the 1980s, as the economy grew. In the 1990s, the economy grew. Today we have an $18 trillion debt. Republicans want to make sure this is fiscally responsible. We want to make sure we are just not layering something else on top of the American people. More importantly, I hope my colleagues join with me to continue to reduce the regulatory burden that we have put out there to people who build the roads, who operate on the roads, the States that have to come up with a plan to building them. So again, there is a lot of work to be done. I feel confident that Chairman Ryan and his committee will be able to come up with a funding level that we can continue to work to get a 6-year bill, which I think is essential to this Nation to give the certainty we need to help boost the economy. A vote against this bill is a vote in favor of shutting down these vital programs, putting transportation projects and jobs across the country at risk, and furloughing Federal employees. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.”