Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, indeed, this Transportation appropriations bill is a jobs creations bill, and I am totally in support of that. My amendment here would modestly increase funding for the Department of Transportation's efforts to help small and disadvantaged businesses obtain transportation contracts. It would add funding beyond the $14,000 increase requested by the President for the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization within the Secretary's office, and to increase the capacity for the department to reach out to small and disadvantaged businesses. When I talk about small and disadvantaged businesses, it's not just ethnic minority businesses. It's veteran-owned businesses. It's women- owned businesses. This is an issue that affects every district, both Democrat and Republican. This amendment is about strengthening these small, but important, programs and the work that they do and sending a strong signal to small businesses and to the Secretary about the level of importance that we as a Congress place on creating opportunities for American businesses that are deserved. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.”