Political Quotes

“Mr. President, let me begin by recognizing the hard work and dedication of my friend from South Dakota, Chairman Johnson, and for his tireless leadership on this legislation that made this possible. Let me also recognize the ranking member, Senator Shelby, for his efforts to work in an incredibly positive, cooperative, and bipartisan manner that, in fact, created the ultimate result of a unanimous bipartisan vote, something we would love to see more of these days. It was his work, along with the chairman's, that got us to that point. I am glad to have been added to that as the subcommittee chair as well. Millions of Americans take over 10 billion transit trips a year. It has taken over 2 years of hard work, and it is part of an overall bill that creates or saves 2 million jobs, but those trips and the jobs that get created by it and the opportunity of people to get to employment, to get to a hospital, to go see family and friends are incredibly important in the context of our national economy. At a time when job creation is essential, it invests in every State to keep us competitive as a nation in the global marketplace. Under this legislation, for example, my home State of New Jersey stands to receive about $519 million in Federal transit funding without any increase in Federal spending. This bill cuts waste and eliminates earmarks so New Jersey will see benefits from a $63 million increase in transit funding, more transit funding than in any previous year.…”