Political Quotes

“I came to Congress with the notion that the Federal Government ought to be a better partner with American communities, local governments, business and citizens to help promote the livability of these communities, to make our families safe, healthy and economically secure. One of the examples of where we could in fact make a difference was found upon my arrival here in Washington, D.C. Despite the fact that the District of Columbia was reputed to have the second worst traffic congestion of any metropolitan region in the country, despite concerns about congestion, pollution, a lack of parking here on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives provided unlimited free parking for our employees, but would not do anything to help those who wanted to use mass transit and perhaps be part of the solution, despite the fact that we were arguing that the private sector and other governments ought to step up and try and help their employees with transit. Mr. Speaker, it took an effort of almost 2 years and working with the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran) we were able to implement a transit benefit program for the House employees. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we have moved into a new era of that. We have more than tripled the benefit.…”