Jay Rockefeller: “it is an interesting situation in which we find ourselves today. I guess I have to say last week was the most…”

“it is an interesting situation in which we find ourselves today. I guess I have to say last week was the most frustrating week I have spent in the Senate in my 24 years here. We are discussing an aviation bill which has highway provisions. We are discussing, for example, in the Presiding Officer's State, the need for essential air service, shown by its loss of Frontier Airlines, and my State there is a similar situation and other States are in similar situations. We are also talking about the fact that airlines are not being run in a safe enough manner. We are talking about the fact that we are just behind Mongolia in terms of our air traffic control system, in terms of its relevance to the modern age. It is a very scary situation. Last week, we did not hold a single vote. We were on the aviation bill all week, but we did not have a single vote on aviation. I find that interesting, and I find it profoundly depressing, and, to a certain extent, it defines what the American people find so inadequate about Congress or, in this case, the Senate. We have ideas, people work very hard, they work long hours, staff works particularly long hours, we negotiate, Members negotiate, we come to what we think is an agreement, and then days go by and nothing happens.”