Harry Reid: “I respond to my friend, he is exactly right. This bill is not some new invention. We have worked over the last several…”

“I respond to my friend, he is exactly right. This bill is not some new invention. We have worked over the last several years to develop different programs. One is interstate maintenance, which is self-explanatory. We have an interstate system that has been completed, and we want to make sure that system is in a good state of repair. It is a never-ending job to keep it up the best we can. A large amount of this $255 billion goes to interstate maintenance. We also have something called the National Highway System. We have to make sure there is funding in the bill to take care of that program. It is what we have done in the past. We also have other programs, such as the Bridge Maintenance Program, which is so important. One Senator came to the floor and said that 29 percent of the bridges are in a state of disrepair. We know that. That is why we are working in this bill to try to keep up with this never-ending system. Also in this bill, rather than just building roads and pouring more asphalt--and this is something we focus too much attention on, but certainly everyone in the country is concerned about the environment and the air we breathe--we have a program dealing with congestion mitigation and air quality. This is basically the brainchild of Senator Moynihan and Senator Chafee. Those are programs in this bill that we have found work well. The directors of the transportation departments in every State like the program we have.”