Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am here this afternoon to address two pieces of legislation that are coming before the Senate. One we are currently waiting to consider is a long-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, and the second, which I hope we will soon consider, is comprehensive legislation to address the Nation's opioid epidemic. I begin by thanking Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson for their work to deliver a bipartisan, bicameral FAA reauthorization bill that provides a 5-year reauthorization for the agency. The last time we reauthorized the FAA, when I was in the Senate, I think it took us 23 tries to get it done over a period of time that was actually longer than the original authorization, but this time we are doing it much faster, with three short-term extensions. Last week, the House passed this bill, the FAA reauthorization, with broad bipartisan support, and I hope the Senate is going to act quickly so we can get this bill to the President's desk for signature. The FAA has not received a long-term reauthorization since February of 2012. Short-term reauthorizations fail to give the FAA the certainty and the necessary resources they need to make to improve our Nation's airports and make commercial air travel safer for all passengers. I think it is particularly an issue right now as we are switching over to the NextGen system of air traffic control.…”