Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume at the moment. Mr. Speaker, again, there is no donee State. Arizona, over the last 4 years or 5 years, got $1.07 for every dollar they put in. There is no such thing as a donee State anymore. Now, it is true, as Mr. Flake says, that that is because we are supplementing the gasoline tax with general funds to maintain the highway program, to maintain the mass transit program. He says that it better not continue. Well, we have only several choices: Number one, we can raise the gasoline tax. I might support that. I think most Members of this House probably wouldn't. I'm sure Mr. Flake wouldn't support raising the gasoline tax. Two, we can fund our transportation system at a totally inadequate level and watch that system deteriorate and watch our country become less competitive with other countries, which is what we're doing now. Three--and the fact is that we funded the last bill at $286 billion, SAFETEA-LU. When the Secretary of Transportation under President Bush said that we needed at least $375 billion for that time period just to keep the system at a system of reasonable repair and reasonable efficiency, never mind major new construction. But we did that because President Bush said no raising the highway taxes and no funding from the general fund, and no use of other revenues.…”