Political Quotes

“``America is one big pothole.'' Those are not my words. They are the words of former Republican Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, a longtime Member of Congress and a Republican from Illinois. That is how he described America's crumbling infrastructure: ``America is one big pothole.'' It is hard to argue with Secretary LaHood's assessment. According to the Federal Highway Administration, 50 percent of American roads are in disrepair. Half of the roads we drive on are in disrepair. What are State legislatures around the country doing? Raising the speed limit. There are a number of places in America where the speed limit is 80 miles an hour. That means that this weekend--Memorial Day weekend--as American families load up their cars and head to the beach or the lake or to visit loved ones, half of the highways they travel on are in dire need of repair. If that were not troubling enough, 64,000 American bridges are structurally deficient. As each day goes by, these roads and bridges get a little worse--one big pothole. It is not just our roads and our bridges. Our Nation's infrastructure affects every means of travel. We are all distraught by last week's Amtrak train derailment in Pennsylvania. Eight people were killed. Hundreds were injured. It has been reported that the horrible derailment might have been prevented if speed control safeguards had been installed on this particular section of track.…”