Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, we need a surface transportation bill, but the last thing in the world we need is this bill, a 2-month extension. If this short-term plan was a necessary step to get us to a long-term bill, that would make some sense; but, as speakers have noted, this is the 33rd time in the past 5 years where Congress has failed to provide long-term and sustainable funding for our surface transportation needs. This is a habit; it is not a plan. Mr. Speaker, this bill follows on the heels of the bill we passed 9 months ago, and that was a 9-month extension of surface transportation paid for by ``pension smoothing.'' You can't make that up. We lowered the obligation corporations pay to pensions in order to put money in the highway transportation fund. We created a pothole in pensions to fix potholes in the highways; it makes no sense, but now, we are here on a 2-month plan--a good job, Congress. We were given some assurances that we would have a long-term bill. The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, there are good long-term plans out there. Congressman Renacci has a plan, the President has a plan, as do Congressman Delaney and Congressman Blumenauer. There are policies out there. We don't need a policy debate. We need a decision.…”