Political Quotes

“I was dismayed by a letter I received yesterday from the chairman of the House Committee on the Budget. It seems that he considers the Appalachian Regional Commission's road-building program corporate welfare, saying that it is used to, quote, ``link well-to-do urban centers with other well-to-do urban centers''. Now, perhaps that is the case with road-building programs in Columbus, OH, but I can assure my colleagues that, in my part of Ohio, ARC road funds are used to bring economic development and jobs to remote communities. Other regions take good roads for granted while the Appalachian people do without. The ARC road program was a promise the Federal Government made to the American people of Appalachia in 1965. It is now 77 percent complete. It is not corporate welfare, it is basic infrastructure. I am hopeful that the good chairman will reconsider his assertions about the worth of this essential program. We need to finish the job and to keep our commitment to the people. The taxpayers in my district want concrete results. We need pavement, not broken promises.”