[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 44 (Thursday, April 1, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3521-S3523]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             TRANSPORTATION

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, the House was scheduled to take up its 
version of the transportation bill yesterday.
  At the eleventh hour--or rather at 7 a.m. this morning--the Rules 
Committee met and appears to have finally found a way to bring the bill 
to the House floor and allow for debate, although they will not allow a 
clear vote on a key amendment that would raise the level of investment 
in the bill.
  Let me just say, this is astounding.
  We have already gone 184 days with one temporary extension after 
another. These unnecessary delays have cost our Nation roughly 100,000 
jobs.
  State and local governments could not begin the contracting process, 
and employers couldn't plan ahead. As a result, there are 100,000 fewer 
Americans working today than there should be.
  Unless we agree on a transportation bill before the end of April, 
when the current extension expires, tens of thousands more jobs will be 
lost.
  Let us put this delay in perspective.
  First, let us all remember who controls not only the House and Senate 
but the executive branch of our government--one party controls all 
three.
  The President has claimed he was going to change the way government 
works. Well, he has everything he needs--control of the U.S. House of 
Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
  And how has he done on changing the way government works? In the 
instance of our Nation's transportation infrastructure, he has steered 
us toward a real-life work stoppage.
  It was 184 days ago that the law that governs our Nation's 
transportation infrastructure and all of the programs that deal with 
transportation expired.
  We have been operating on temporary extensions to the law for 184 
days.
  Is the delay because Democrats have blocked a bill or used 
parliamentary tactics? No.
  In fact, it wasn't until November that a bill was even reported by a 
Senate committee and not until February when we passed the bill in the 
Senate.

[[Page S3522]]

  That was a good bill and Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Jeffords 
and others--including Senators Frist, Bond and Reid--deserve high 
praise for finally getting the bill finished.
  That bill garnered 76 bipartisan votes.
  The delay that occurred in the House was certainly not due to 
Democrats.
  A bill that was introduced and appeared to have a majority of support 
was scrapped by the Republican leadership at the behest of President 
Bush and slashed by $100 billion.
  And the new reduced bill wasn't passed by the House committee until 
last week.
  One-hundred and eighty-four days behind schedule as we continue to 
inch toward actually shutting down the Department of Transportation.
  I have hopes that we will get a bill approved by the House this week 
so we can begin to pre-conference the two bills and get a bill to the 
President before the most recent short-term extension expires at the 
end of April.
  But as recently as this morning, it is still unclear if the House 
will complete their work before they leave town for 2 weeks.
  One-hundred and eighty-four days without passing a transportation 
bill. Simply amazing on a bill that is critical to our Nation.
  Why the delay? One reason. The opposition of President Bush himself.
  A veto has threatened the Senate bill--a bill that, as I said, was 
approved with Republicans and Democrats alike.
  The President opposed the original House bill, and now, to the dismay 
of almost the entire transportation community--including many groups 
such as the Chamber of Commerce who have long supported the President--
the administration is even threatening a veto by President Bush of the 
scaled back $275 billion bill that the House is set to consider.
  It appears the President would rather not have a transportation bill 
that would create 1.7 million jobs--this in light of the 3 million 
private sector jobs already lost under this administration's watch.
  Let us be clear. It has been 184 days since those who control the 
House and Senate and the Presidency have not been able to move a 
transportation bill onto the President's desk--and it has not been as a 
result of Democrats in any way.
  There are some serious politics being played here with peoples lives, 
and I, for one, don't want to be a part of it.
  This inaction has made it nearly impossible for us to even think 
about approving another short-term extension--because that may be the 
only thing that places pressure on Congress to approve the longer-term 
bill.
  It has been 184 days and there is still a month to go before the 
Republicans let the law lapse and shut down the Department.
  There is still time before the extension runs out to move a good 
bill. But, I will not be a part of another extension that encourages 
further inaction and shortchanges our transportation infrastructure and 
denies Americans the jobs that they so desperately need and deserve.
  One-hundred and eighty-four days so far. We will keep counting.
  But let us all know what is going on here. The delays are due to the 
President's opposition to approving a thoughtful transportation bill.
  This, despite the majority in Congress who want to address this 
fundamental issue.
  Why is the majority so strong for a transportation bill and the 
administration so out of step?
  There are many reasons, but to make it simple, the Bush 
administration is focused like a laser beam on tax cuts for the most 
affluent--the privileged few--and they do not have time or want to 
bother with investments in our Nation's infrastructure.
  The transportation investment proposal that the Bush administration 
put forward was dead on arrival in the Congress because it wouldn't 
even keep up with inflation.
  At a time when 9 million Americans are out of work and job creation 
is virtually nonexistent, any more delays are unconscionable. And if it 
were not for the President, we could avoid that.
  In many States, such as my home State of South Dakota, the 
construction season is short--sometimes only 6 months.
  If contracts are not entered into in April, it will be nearly 
impossible to plan and get the work completed before the construction 
season comes to an end early next fall.
  Another year could be lost.
  It is time for Congress and the administration to get together and 
approve a bill that brings new investments to our decaying 
transportation infrastructure and new jobs to the American economy.
  The Senate's transportation bill would create 1.7 million jobs this 
coming year. It would bring welcome relief from the longest jobs slump 
our Nation has endured since the Depression. So in addition to 
repairing America's transportation infrastructure, this legislation 
will reinvigorate the economy.
  In States such as Texas, California, and Florida, the Senate bill 
increases transportation investment by roughly 40 percent--four times 
the increase proposed by the House, the House level the President 
opposes.
  We are not just talking about numbers on a budget spreadsheet; the 
additional investment in the Senate bill translates into hundreds of 
thousands of jobs for Americans.
  In Florida, for example, the Senate bill would create 44,000 jobs, 
while the House bill would create 13,000. In Texas, the Senate bill 
would create 80,000 jobs; the House bill 13,000. In Missouri, 22,000 
versus 6,000; Illinois, 45,000, versus 10,000; California, 90,000 
versus 25,000; Tennessee, 20,000 versus 6,000; and in my State of South 
Dakota, 6,500 versus 1,500.
  In all, the House bill falls 500,000 jobs short of the Senate bill. 
We have all heard from the administration, and all we have heard they 
oppose both the Senate and House versions of the bill. For the Bush 
administration, it appears it is their way or--if you might pardon the 
pun--the highway, or, in this case, no highway funding.
  We cannot afford to let our transportation investments fall victim to 
this kind of rigid partisanship. Every day we fail to make investments 
in our transportation infrastructure, every hour Americans lose in 
traffic, every delay in the shipment of goods, carries a cost to the 
American economy and slows job growth.
  There is a broad coalition of groups and industries--including the 
Chamber of Commerce, the Association of General Contractors, the 
American Public Transportation Association, and the International Union 
of Operating Engineers--who are united in their support of the Senate 
level of $318 billion.
  They recently delivered a letter that was unequivocal. They wrote:

       As business and labor organizations, we cannot support any 
     legislation below the Senate investment level for a six-year 
     bill.

  Time is running short, but, as I said, we can still deliver real 
relief to the American economy. If the House passes a bill this week, 
and staff and Members would start working immediately, there is 
absolutely no reason we should not be able to complete this bill in 
April. We can avoid letting the President and the Republican House 
leadership singlehandedly shut down the Department of Transportation.
  It has been 184 days since the Republican Congress and President Bush 
began failing our Nation's transportation system and all who rely upon 
it. I know we can do better than this, put aside partisan politics, and 
begin to focus on the important work that is before us all. I hope that 
can be done in the next day.
  Mr. REID. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. DASCHLE. I am happy to yield.
  Mr. REID. Is the distinguished Democratic leader aware that the work 
done in the Senate bill--$318 billion for transit and highways--was 
done on a bipartisan basis? I have been chairman of that full committee 
on two occasions. I understand it. I understand the committee very 
well. But there was cooperation such as I have never seen. With Senator 
Inhofe, Senator Bond, Senator Jeffords, and me being ranking member on 
the subcommittee now, there was no partisanship.
  Is the Senator--I am sure--also aware this bill does not increase 
taxes at all, it is paid for with existing dollars, plus trust fund 
moneys? So anyone who thinks this is breaking the bank simply is 
mistaken. This is no new taxes, totally funded, no deficit spending. Is 
the Senator aware of that?

[[Page S3523]]

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I answer the distinguished assistant 
Democratic leader by saying that is exactly the case. We had an 
extraordinarily effective demonstration of bipartisanship in taking up 
the highway bill. I worked closely with Senator Frist. I say to the 
Senator, you worked closely with Senator Inhofe. We got the job done on 
time and, as you say, on budget.
  This does not represent 1 dollar of additional deficit spending. It 
is a commitment to jobs. It is a commitment to infrastructure. It is a 
commitment to our fiscal soundness that I think is one of the best 
moments we have experienced in this Congress to date. It demonstrated 
again Democrats and Republicans can truly work together.
  I only hope we could do the same in the House, and we will certainly 
do the same as we try to resolve whatever differences there will be 
with the House, including the amount committed to infrastructure in the 
coming days.
  I thank the Senator for his excellent question.
  I yield the floor.

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