Political Quotes

“I indicated that the chairman of the Banking Committee, Senator Shelby, and the ranking member, Senator Sarbanes, have also approved this legislation. The reason they do so is because they are responsible for the transit aspect of the highway bill. In years past, we divided the money we get on highways; 20 percent of it basically goes to transit. Why? For every person who is riding on a train, that is that much less traffic congestion and burden on our highways. It has worked well for decades. We need to continue that. This amendment recognizes additional highway capacity alone will not solve the problems of congestion; therefore, we should provide Americans with other transportation options such as transit. It is part of important congestion relief. It is also a lifeline for millions of Americans to health care, to jobs, and to schools. Nevada is an example. Ten years ago, for us to talk about needing transit money would have been unheard of. But now we are badly in need of it. We are building the only commercial monorail that will go from the airport up and down the strip which will save millions of hours in travel time and make it a much easier trip from the airport to the many vacation spots along the Las Vegas strip and downtown. We have duty to every American to invest in a balanced transportation system. That is what this amendment is about. I ask for the support of the Senate.”