Bob Menendez: “I certainly want to commend my dear friend and colleague, the distinguished chairman of the Commerce Committee, for what…”

“I certainly want to commend my dear friend and colleague, the distinguished chairman of the Commerce Committee, for what he has done in bringing the reauthorization to the floor and the manner in which he has fashioned it. This is an opportunity to create 150,000 jobs, modernize our system for this 21st century, save millions of gallons of fuel that get spent under a system that is antiquated, and people sitting in planes just idling, and $9 billion in lost revenue to the Nation as a result of an antiquated system. All of this will be dealt with, with the FAA reauthorization. But before I get to that I want to speak for a moment on an item that we will be voting on tomorrow which is critically important to make sure we put the Nation back to work, the HIRE Act. One of those items I believe is incredibly important that has been getting the wrong view here is the question of the Build America Bonds. My view is that these bonds have been one of the most successful pieces of the economic recovery package passed last year. They have helped to finance nearly $80 billion in economic development projects in all 50 States.”