Political Quotes

“I rise in support of H.R. 2400, the Building Efficient Surface Transportation and Equity Act. America's roads, bridges and related infrastructure are in critical need of repair. Heightened congestion and the deterioration of many of our major highways, bridges and roads can and must be repaired. Many hours have been spent by many people on this bill. I commend the efforts of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Shuster), the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri), the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the Indiana delegation, the Governor of Indiana, and others both in the public and private sectors throughout my congressional district, the Seventh of Indiana, for their part in making this bill a reality. Through their hard work, H.R. 2400 is a fairer bill for Indiana and other donor States. When Congress started the Highway Trust Fund, a gas tax was instituted and a promise was made to Hoosiers and all Americans that the dollars in this trust fund would be used for transportation improvements. I believe this promise must be kept. I also believe it would be wrong for me to return to Indiana for the district work period without doing everything in my power do ensure that this bill is fairly considered and adopted. Thousands of jobs in Indiana and across America are at stake. Mr. Chairman, with this bill we take a giant step toward that objective and toward fairness in the distribution of taxpayer dollars.”