[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 1, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H7761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    BIG GOVERNMENT ORDERS BIG SIGNS

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Federal Highway Administration is 
ordering all local governments to go out and purchase new road signs. 
Why? Because the brilliant bureaucrats say these signs are easier to 
read. It took 800 pages of ``easy-to-read'' regulations and redtape to 
mandate making letters two inches taller. The new signs must be 
reflective and cannot be in all caps. New York City alone will have to 
spend $27 million just to revamp their sufficient signs. Millions will 
be spent by other financially troubled cities.
  Why is this happening? Because, as the saying goes, ``We're from 
government, and we're here to help you.'' What if the towns refuse to 
replace their perfectly good signs with the Federally authorized signs? 
Will the intrusive Federal street sign police come out and cart the 
city officials off to jail for road sign violations? And what's next? 
Will the Feds soon require signs be in multiple languages? Once again, 
Big Government solves problems that don't exist and answers questions 
no one is asking. And that's just the way it is.

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