[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 117 (Friday, September 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 22, 2004

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5025) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Transportation and 
     Treasury, and independent agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2005, and for other purposes:

  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Chairman, I voted in strong support of the Motion to 
Recommit sponsored by Representative David Obey and in reluctant 
support for final passage of H.R. 5025, the Transportation and Treasury 
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2005.
  Politics and a deplorable abuse of the legislative process are 
holding critical transportation projects across this country hostage. 
This includes the T-REX project in my district--which has introduced 
light rail to metro Denver and expanded a vital corridor along I-25. 
Every federal highway and transit project in this country must be 
authorized to receive federal funds before the appropriators can 
release them. Unfortunately, the wheels have fallen off the 
authorization train this time around.
  We in Congress are facing an incredible situation where a Republican-
controlled House, a Republican-controlled Senate and a Republican-
controlled White House cannot reach an agreement on funding levels for 
our nation's transportation system. This showdown occurs against a 
background of ever increasing traffic congestion, as our transportation 
needs continue to outstrip our will to address them.
  As if there weren't enough to raise concern about the authorization 
process alone, the folly extended to the House's consideration of the 
transportation funding bill as well. My Republican colleagues from 
Colorado subjected the appropriations bill itself to numerous points of 
order that stripped the legislation of funding for transit projects, 
Amtrak, and even T-REX.
  My hometown paper, the Rocky Mountain News, recently described the 
situation we face today, ``Imagine a major transportation bill that 
pays for very few roads or transit programs.'' Well, that's what we're 
stuck with. Do you know why my colleagues decided to strip this much-
needed money out of the bill? Because the authorization bill hasn't 
passed. Well, whose fault is that?
  So I support Mr. Obey's efforts to restore the transit funding to the 
transportation bill before us here today. I'll vote for final passage, 
because I hope that all of this absurdity will be remedied in the 
conference report because, frankly, my constituents don't care about 
this political wrangling. They care about the transportation crunch 
across our country, they care about congestion in Denver and they care 
about real solutions. I will continue to fight against this political 
posturing and for the real solutions that will get traffic flowing 
again in my district and across this nation.

                          ____________________