Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. I understand the concern that has led to it about the practice of tolling or the possibility of tolling on two adjacent highways in two States. But the same kind of reasoning that applied, I think, to Mr. Thompson's amendment earlier would apply to this. This is not a decision for us to make on the floor of the House tonight. This is clearly a local matter. We don't have any business micromanaging it. The States involved can have their own decisionmaking processes. They have their own ways of consulting with one another for that matter. Federal law has been pretty flexible on this for good reason. It has been flexible about tolling, about the treatment of existing toll-free roads for good reason. We have pressing infrastructure needs in this country. We have great need for flexibility in the way we fund infrastructure improvements. I relayed earlier the kind of decision we made in North Carolina. It was not particularly our first choice to have a toll road, but the alternative was waiting 20 years, so we have a toll road. Others will make other decisions. But it is not our place to preempt those decisions, let alone in an appropriations bill. Mr. Chairman, I do oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”