Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report on H.R. 4348, the surface transportation reauthorization bill of 2012. I first want to salute Chairman Mica for the tremendous job he has done in bringing this bill to the floor today, and I want to thank him for allowing me to serve as chairman of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee. This monumental reform package will be considered the signature jobs bill of the 112th Congress, and I am pleased to have been a conferee on the negotiations of the conference report. States will have over 2 years of funding certainty with no tax increases. By providing long-term funding stability to States, major projects will be able to move forward to help create jobs and make much-needed repairs to our Nation's critical transportation infrastructure. These are jobs, Mr. Speaker, that will not be outsourced to China or elsewhere. Traffic congestion costs the U.S. economy over $100 billion a year, approximately. With congestion expected to increase over the next decade and beyond, the job creation from this bill will help reduce congestion costs and boost the economy. This conference report contains no earmarks. {time} 1100 Funding is distributed based on formulas which go directly to State Departments of Transportation, which will prioritize the highway and transit projects that are the most needed and most important in their State.…”