Political Quotes

“we have before the Senate one of the most important pieces of legislation that the Senate will consider this year, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1998, the so-called ISTEA II bill. The bill touches every American, from Vermont to Florida, from Washington State to Washington D.C. ISTEA II, with its transit and safety subtitles, will spend more than $215 billion over six years on our nation's highways, transit systems, and safety programs. That is a lot of money, but it is sorely needed. The United States has the largest transportation system in the world--170,000 miles of National Highway System routes, 900,000 miles of other Federal-aid roads, and 3.7 million miles of public roads. Prior to 1991, our national priority had been on building the national Interstate system which had been under construction since 1957. Six years ago, thanks to the leadership of Senators Moynihan and Chafee, this nation made a fundamental change in the way that it allocates its public investment in transportation. That change was based on the premises that local people understand local needs, that funding should be flexible, and that transportation should contribute to meeting national environmental and public health goals. In my estimation, ISTEA has been a resounding success. The bill before the Senate will come to be known as ISTEA II. I want to commend the managers of the bill, Senators Chafee and Baucus, for crafting a landmark piece of legislation.”