Political Quotes

“three years ago, when the Contract with America was being debated, had somebody told me that this Congress would seriously consider, much less adopt, legislation calling for a 40% increase in highway spending, I would have said ``only on April Fools Day.'' Well, here it is, April 1, 1998, and what do we have on the Floor but a bill fitting that description that stands a good chance of being approved. Is it a joke? No indeed. Whatever people may think of it, the Building Efficient Surface Transportation and Equity Act (BESTEA) we are considering today is a very real and a very attractive proposal for a number of reasons. First of all, BESTEA meets a clear need, the need for better roads, safer bridges and relief from the incessant traffic congestion that plagues Chicago and many other urban areas of this country. Second, the legislation deals with several rather obvious inequities, one being the expenditure of federal gas taxes for purposes other than those intended and another being that not all states receive a fair return on their gas tax contributions. Third, the bill addresses these inequities in a way that is not only generous but is designed to prevent their recurrence. And fourth, almost every state and four congressional districts out of every five stand to benefit from that generosity and from the inclusion of nearly 1,800 demonstration projects in the legislation.”