Thomas Daschle: “the House was scheduled to take up its version of the transportation bill yesterday. At the eleventh hour--or rather at…”

“the House was scheduled to take up its version of the transportation bill yesterday. At the eleventh hour--or rather at 7 a.m. this morning--the Rules Committee met and appears to have finally found a way to bring the bill to the House floor and allow for debate, although they will not allow a clear vote on a key amendment that would raise the level of investment in the bill. Let me just say, this is astounding. We have already gone 184 days with one temporary extension after another. These unnecessary delays have cost our Nation roughly 100,000 jobs. State and local governments could not begin the contracting process, and employers couldn't plan ahead. As a result, there are 100,000 fewer Americans working today than there should be. Unless we agree on a transportation bill before the end of April, when the current extension expires, tens of thousands more jobs will be lost. Let us put this delay in perspective. First, let us all remember who controls not only the House and Senate but the executive branch of our government--one party controls all three. The President has claimed he was going to change the way government works. Well, he has everything he needs--control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. And how has he done on changing the way government works? In the instance of our Nation's transportation infrastructure, he has steered us toward a real-life work stoppage.”