On the recordJune 7, 2011
the EDA is something that has worked very well in our State of Oklahoma. First, let me say the Senator from California is right--there are many issues on which we do not agree. In fact, we have fought tooth and nail for a long time against the cap- and-trade and a lot of these environmental issues and will continue to do so. However, what we agree most on is not necessarily the EDA program but the need for reauthorization of transportation. We have a very serious problem. In my State of Oklahoma, just a short while ago a young lady, the mother of two small children, was driving under a bridge, and it crumbled and fell and killed her. There are things like that, crises that are going on right now. We were very proud when we had what we thought at the time was a very robust highway reauthorization bill, a transportation reauthorization bill in 2005. While the amount sounded like quite a bit, it was really just barely enough to maintain what we had. There are some things government is supposed to be doing. I am always ranked as one of the most conservative Members, but I am a big spender in areas such as national defense and infrastructure. Those are needs we have. In putting together this bill and taking it out of committee--and it did come out of committee unanimously--there had been a GAO report that talked about duplication. I put in language in order to have them identify anything that would be duplicative so that would come out.…
