Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, first I wish to dedicate my remarks tonight in memory of our former colleague, James Oberstar, who knew the transportation system of this Nation like the back of his hand. And I know the first thing he would say if he were down here. He would say transportation investment, infrastructure investment is the largest job creator that this Congress and this Nation can provide to the American people. Infrastructure creates jobs. It is the highest form of development we can give to the American people. What are they asking this Congress for? They are asking us for jobs, and they are asking us to fix the roads. Every place I go the public is complaining about potholes because of the bad winter in the part of the country that I represent. We know, where do these jobs come from? The construction industry, the landscape industry, the paving industry, the fencing industry, the stone quarries, the concrete manufacturers. The list is endless. In public transit we are talking about building rail cars to serve a growing population. America isn't declining in population. By 2050 we will have 500 million people in this country, up from 310 million today. So communities across our country are asking for our help. They asked for $9.5 billion in high-priority infrastructure projects just this year, 15 times more than the current funding. So what does the majority do?…”