Sherwood Boehlert: “when all is said and done, I view this as a keep-the-faith with the American people amendment. The authors are asking of…”

“when all is said and done, I view this as a keep-the-faith with the American people amendment. The authors are asking of us to approve exactly what we said we would do, we would charge taxes and fees and we would use that money to build, repair, and maintain our Nation's infrastructure. Nothing more, nothing less. No one is suggesting a raid on any other funds earmarked for any other purpose. Rather, what the advocates of this amendment are saying is that we should level with the American people. If we ask them for money for a specific purpose, we should use that money for that specific purpose. Let me hasten to add that approving this measure will not, it will not take all the hard work and negotiations that have led us to this historic moment and toss it out the window forcing us to start anew. Does anyone really believe that an approximate one-third of 1 percent adjustment in other spending and tax reduction programs, nothing the first year, one-tenth of 1 percent the second year and one-third overall is going to upset the apple cart? That strains credulity. Let us keep the faith with the American people. Let us support Shuster-Oberstar.”