Political Quotes

“We begin an unusual week here on Capitol Hill, although unusual is sort of the new usual in Washington, D.C. The Senate begins deliberations on an 8-year Republican mission to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and they don't fully know what it is exactly they are voting on. There is uncertainty in the House over both the budget and appropriations, but, you know, there is an opportunity for Congress to take a step back, to do something that will make a huge difference for everybody from coast to coast, something that can bring together a wide coalition of support and meet unmet needs. {time} 1015 I am talking about addressing the unmet infrastructure needs for a country that is falling apart as we fall behind. We haven't raised the gas tax in 24 years. And in the course of that 24 years, we have watched the value of the Federal gas tax actually erode 40 percent, due to inflation and increased fuel efficiency, while our needs continue to go up each and every year. Congress has put together a series of stopgap measures--gimmicks here and there--which have not adequately met those needs, and they have actually increased the budget deficit.…”