Louise Slaughter: “I am supportive of this first rule. And I say that I am a bit concerned that it only makes in order 10 of the…”

“I am supportive of this first rule. And I say that I am a bit concerned that it only makes in order 10 of the amendments. As explained by the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) we will do the rest today. And I am fervently hoping that, since all of the amendments this morning are Republicans', that this afternoon we will do the Democratic amendments. There is one bipartisan amendment, however, that is very important, we believe, and that is the one that is being brought up by the Members in the New Jersey Delegation, that is, the Pascrell Amendment that allows States to enact anti-corruption laws curbing the practice of pay-to-play contracting and not lose their Federal highway dollars. These laws are critical to help stop the threat of real and apparent corruption resulting from large political contributions from contractors to influence the awarding of public contracts. Surely, we can help do that. We are currently operating under the sixth temporary extension of TEA-21, which was originally set to expire on September 30, 2003. I know that State and local transportation offices are finding it very difficult for the long-term planning that is necessary to adequately address the growing transportation needs around the country. As we in this body have been unable to agree on how to proceed with the critical legislation for some time, the significant infrastructure problems that plague the communities are worsening each day.”