Jim Inhofe

The expanded Federal decisionmaking and control over issues traditionally handled at the local and State levels.

What we are talking about are life and death issues.

I have always said when I was first campaigning for this job and the different times I have been elected, four times, that we have some priorities. No. 1 has always been, in my position, national defense. No. 2 is infrastructure.

Congress' recent action to extend the Federal Highway Program through the end of the year is significant and will help while a new reauthorization bill is under development.

A strong Federal commitment is necessary to ensure the continuity and viability of our transportation infrastructure far into the future.

Any emphasis on addressing metropolitan congestion problems must be based on the recognition that Washington does not understand the unique problems or the best solutions to those problems in individual areas.

As we make decisions for the next surface transportation bill we will need to keep asking ourselves, 'What is the Federal role?'

We need to keep asking ourselves what is the Federal role. This Nation's needs far exceed the available funding.

I am a father and grandfather, so obviously protecting the health of children, born and unborn, is a personal priority.

The goal of this oversight hearing today, as well as the legislative efforts we have underway, is very straightforward.

That is my point. This has been available to everyone, and you haven't turned them away. I think you have answered it very well.

OK, it has been 16 years since the Federal aid program authorized the use of State infrastructure banks.

I mean, this is not just a matter of convenience; it is a matter of life and death.

Well, we know the problem. We talked about the fact there is about $600 billion out there, and it is growing every day in terms of just maintenance backlog that we have, and we have to do something about it.

Clearly, we need to think about how we can do things differently.

I believe in Federal infrastructure spending and see it as one of the primary purposes of Government.

We can't expect to spend our way out of this crisis with Federal dollars alone; we need a true public-private partnership.

I believe our Federal infrastructure spending is one of our very primary concerns, second only to defending America.

I believe that TSCA is a fundamentally sound statute. But it is 30 years old, and the science of chemical risk assessment has evolved.

As we consider legislation aimed at modernizing the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Congress must avoid creating new burdens that hurt consumers and the economy.

The goal of combining greater regulatory certainty under the Clean Air Act with significant advances in public health and the environment is a worthy and attainable one.

A key consideration for the short-term infusion of infrastructure spending is this: Every dollar invested in construction generates another $1.59 that flows through the rest of the economy.

The last Administration had a figure, and I have it down here. It is 34,779 jobs for every billion dollars that is invested in highways.

There are two things here: the indirect jobs and then the long-term, how this helps others.

Now, one of the things that is not talked about are the indirect jobs, the long-run jobs, the getting people to work.