Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to present today the conference report on the Department of Transportation and related agencies. In total, the bill provides $17.8 billion in discretionary budget authority for critical operations of the Department of Transportation, an increase of $3.5 billion over fiscal year 2000. Much of the increase over last year's level is attributed to mandated increases in the Federal Aviation Administration as a result of the enactment of AIR21. In addition, the increase over last year is a result of additional operational requirements of the U.S. Coast Guard. Allow me to mention a couple of highlights: $4.5 billion for the Coast Guard, of which $565 million is for drug interdiction; $12 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, a 25 percent increase over last year, consistent with the requirements of AIR21, of which $3.2 billion is for airport improvement programs; $30 billion for the federal-aid highways program, an increase of almost $2 billion over last year and consistent with TEA21; $720 million for the emergency relief highway program to fund the backlog of overdue bills to restore highways damaged in previous natural disasters; $6.3 billion for transit program spending, an increase of $486 million; $279 million for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, more than double last year, to improve truck safety on our Nation's roads.”