You know, for a number of years many have touted an infrastructure bank as the solution to our massive infrastructure deficit in this country. It isn't.

If you want quick employment you probably would put more money into areas where there are on-the-shelf investments ready to go.

We need more investment from all sources. And that is the bottom line here.

If the President really believes in the national infrastructure bank concept, he should tell the Secretary to fully fund TIFIA out of the TIGER III program.

So, we are talking about a very unique moment in our history, when we have many billion-dollar-plus jobs that are ready to go if we can right-size TIFIA.

They are killing people in Washington, DC, because of a lack of state of good repair.

I do note with appreciation that the Republican side has now dropped their proposal to cut infrastructure investment by 35 percent.

But you do raise one issue I have a concern about, which is springing liens.

I am also against the President's proposed American infrastructure financing authority. This is not because of any objection to an infrastructure bank.

I really advocate removing the springing lien requirement.

OK. Well then I really don't want to hear from you on that.

What I envision for the O&C Lands has never been done before; and, frankly, it's very different from what's being proposed in Title I.

Just my rough calculation is it would cost twice as much as the current payments, which means maybe we ought to just find the money in your budget.

I do want to start out, because your agency often does not get thanked, I do want to thank you and your agency.

I have to say I am pretty disappointed that we are now at this point and you are willing to have a dialogue.

I did support the President's initiative this week on the Buffett rule on taxes.

Chairman, we are going to have more than one round, right? Hopefully. OK. Because I have a lot of questions.

I voted against it here in the House because I know how the system is gamed.

File it. They are clearly in violation of the WTO.

We could just say, OK, in the U.S. we will now take that off-gas, we will destroy it.

Have we contemplated they have not taken the least intrusive, least expensive means here?

Nobody but suckers pays that rate, some poor little corporation based here in the U.S.

Exxon Mobile paid zero income taxes in the United States last year, the year before, the year before and the year before.

I would like to thank Congressman DeFazio for introducing this bill on this issue.

Exxon's profits last quarter of last year was the largest quarterly profit for any earthly entity in the history of the world, $9.25 billion, up 53 percent in one year.