Political Quotes

“This week on Capitol Hill, there are hundreds and hundreds of people from around the country who are delivering a message: that America is falling apart and is falling behind, and it is time for us to address the critical funding shortfall for our transportation needs. They could not have picked a better time to come to Capitol Hill. The 10-month extension of the surface transportation legislation is set to expire in 6 weeks. It is the latest in a series of 23 short-term extensions. No nation ever became great planning its infrastructure 9 months at a time. The Republican budget--passed last month--again proposes to cut transportation spending, which is already inadequate, 30 percent over the next 10 years despite hearing from local governments, business, labor that the Federal Government should be larger in its contribution, not smaller. {time} 1030 The unwillingness to face reality got us to where we are today, falling apart, falling behind. The country that used to have the finest infrastructure in the world was recently rated 17th, and we are falling further behind. The gas tax hasn't been increased since 1993, and it has lost nearly 40 percent of its purchasing power. We can't pay for transportation in 2015 with 1993 dollars, but it is interesting that action has taken place on a number of different levels. Over a dozen Senators have been talking about raising the gas tax.…”