Jim Inhofe: “I would like to reemphasize a couple points. First of all, when we talk about 40 percent or 43 percent, we are talking…”

“I would like to reemphasize a couple points. First of all, when we talk about 40 percent or 43 percent, we are talking about over a 6-year period. Generally we are in the mindset of talking about from year to year down here, and there are people walking around thinking we are talking about a 40-percent increase. We are talking about, if you would amortize it and put it the way we normally discuss things, 6.2 percent a year. This is in infrastructure, things you see out there. I think people need to understand that. Secondly, those of us who were in the business of putting together this bill over the last year, along with its formula and everything else that is being criticized, considered all these things. Then we went, as we should, to the Finance Committee and said: All right, how are we going to pay for this? And, yes, we can do it. They have said this bill is going to be paid for. They have said the three criterion the administration sent down some time ago--that, No. 1, it would not increase gas taxes; No. 2, it would not have any fun- and-games type of bonding fixes; and, No. 3, it would not add to the deficit--is met.”