Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague. He has stood with me throughout this battle, succeeding me as chairman. He fully understands. He brings a perspective to the Government. He understands the problem of long-term stability in contracting on our highway programs. Of course, that is predicated on this trigger mechanism working. Perhaps the distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee will know. This is so serious, but I wish to inject a little humor. One of our colleagues today said this reminds him of pool. It is a three-bank shot. Picture the ball. That is the 4.3. You hit it off one bank, and suddenly it gets stripped off and goes around the other balls, which is the Budget Committee, so they don't have any voice in this. It goes off another bank. When it hits that bank, it picks up funds from the general revenue. Then it comes over and hits another bank to get around the Appropriations Committee, which usually has some authority over appropriating around the surplus, and then slowly goes into the pocket of the highway trust fund. So this is a three-cornered bank shot. Maybe our distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee can throw a little light on this triggering mechanism and how it works. I thank my colleague.”