Political Quotes

“I must join with my colleagues Mr. Price and Mr. Quigley. The reference here to the TIGER grant program is really almost incomprehensible in terms of what one would think Congress and even our friends in the Republican majority should be supporting. These are amongst the most popular programs that we have had in transportation, and the goal of the TIGER program was to maximize the impact. It required local communities to come together, often across jurisdictional boundaries, to figure out how to leverage the most impact from this program. Mr. Price referenced the heritage trail in Indianapolis. I have heard the mayor of Indianapolis give a spirited explanation of what difference that has made in the revitalization of that community. It is leveraging over $60 million to be able to improve the livability of Indianapolis. I was in Philadelphia, watching the program there, where the entire region came together for a $23 million program for bike and pedestrian, which would not be possible under the restrictions that the Republicans have inexplicably designed. Mr. Latham has a couple of TIGER grants in his district that would not be possible under this language. In Houston, a $200 million investment in bike and pedestrian trails has leveraged another $50 million from the private sector and is part of their effort to revitalize the downtown.…”