Political Quotes

“I thank the Senator from Delaware and the Senator from California for going ahead with this amendment. I thank Senator Carper for this leadership not just on this issue but other issues. I know we are working with other long-term issues that need to be resolved, and I thank him for the way he is going about doing that. If I could just lay out what is happening today, a House bill is coming over here today that is a short-term extension. Mr. President, I don't know if you know this, but this will be the 11th short-term extension since 2008. Let me say that one more time. This will be the 11th short-term extension that has occurred since 2008. This is the fifth time we have taken money out of the general fund-- taken money out of the general fund--to fund the highway trust fund, which is supposed to be funded through user fees. So what I would like to say to my friends on this side of the aisle is that this is the fifth time for the highway trust fund, which builds highways and bridges around our country, that we are engaging in generational theft--generational theft--where we take money out of the general fund. Everyone knows it is not paid for. We use gimmicks to pay for something that the Constitution says we are actually supposed to deal with. The House sent over a bill, and there has been a lot of consternation on the floor about that. They used $6.4 billion worth of pension smoothing. Everyone in this body knows it is not a real pay-for.…”