[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REAUTHORIZE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BILL

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a result 
of the Senate invoking cloture on what is being called a jobs bill. I 
believe we should be calling this bill what it really is. It's a cash 
infusion to keep the highway trust fund solvent.
  Mr. Speaker, the Senate majority leader has said that a full 
reauthorization of surface transportation will be on the table by the 
end of the year. I ask, why not now? I ask, why not last February when 
we were debating the stimulus bill? Of the total stimulus spending in 
2009, only 4 percent went to roads and bridges.
  And while it is widely acknowledged that government spending does not 
end recessions, the money that has been otherwise squandered on 
portions of the stimulus that have been highly contested could have 
been used to promote maintaining or expanding our infrastructure. In 
turn, this would lead to safety enhancement, and above all, a more 
productive country.
  The American people deserve some certainty--whether it's looming 
health care mandates, cap-and-trade legislation, or planners just 
wondering if the highway dollars are going to be there.

  If we want real stimulus, Congress will do its work and reauthorize 
surface transportation legislation immediately.

                          ____________________