Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am fully in support of what the chairman has said. We have been on this bill now for over a week of actual Senate time. It is an important bill for our country because we are trying to set in place the next generation of air traffic control. America has over 50 percent of the air traffic in the world. We need to be the leader of the next generation of air traffic control systems. We are trying to transfer from the ground- based radar system to a satellite-based system. It will be more efficient. It will open many more opportunities for airspace. We need to be able to move forward so that more planes can use the airspace we have. Yet we are finding a reluctance to vote on amendments. There are several amendments that are pending. We need to have votes on those amendments. There are safety measures; there are consumer protection measures in this bill. The chairman and I have worked together on making progress because we both want to pass this bill. It is a good bill. The sticking point is the slots at Reagan National Airport. Honestly, the chairman's staff and my staff have worked with all of the affected airlines and States and constituents to try to come to a fair opening of Washington National Airport to people who live west of St. Louis, MO. Basically, west of St. Louis, there are very few straight flights from Washington National. Most of them have to stop.…”