[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 167 (Thursday, November 21, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S8428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Appropriations

  Madam President, let me also spend a couple minutes here thanking 
Chairwoman Mikulski. She has a tough job as chairwoman of the 
Appropriations Committee, and she is an example of someone who is 
determined to work together to get work done, trying to get the 
appropriations process back on track. No doubt it has been sidetracked 
this year and in recent years. This year we have seen what I would term 
an irresponsible feud, especially down on the House side, blowing up 
the farm bill, pushing for shutting down the government, trying to get 
us in a bad place on the debt ceiling.
  I am not trying to do the blame game, but I know that Chairwoman 
Mikulski is fighting very hard to put an end to that. We need to get 
back to our No. 1 priority. That should be growing our economy and 
creating jobs. There are lots of ways we can do that, but one is 
through the appropriations process, by investing in infrastructure. We 
can make responsible, targeted investments in our future with the right 
kind of spending on infrastructure, whether it is roadways or airports 
or schools or centers for innovation--whatever it happens to be. There 
are lots of smart ways to do that.
  The history of this country shows it is a winning strategy when we 
work together and make the right kind of investments in our future. 
Arkansas is a good example. We have a number of items we could talk 
about today where Federal spending has made a real difference in our 
State. One of those is called the Bayou Meto water project. It started 
back in 1923. It has been the subject of a lot of fights, and I have 
some scars to show that I have been part of some of those fights. But 
they are making great progress there. Not only is it good for thousands 
and thousands of farmers, but it is also great for drinking water and 
for flood control, and there are 55,000 acres of fish and wildlife 
habitat that are being protected through this project. So it is a win-
win for everybody.
  Arkansas airports would be another example. You may not think of 
Arkansas as an aviation State or an aviation powerhouse, but we have 
29,000 jobs that are tied to commercial and general aviation. It is 
$2.5 billion in our economy. Again, that investment in infrastructure 
is what makes that possible.
  We also have the National Center for Toxicological Research down near 
Pine Bluff, AR--cutting-edge research, lots of effort on 
nanotechnology.
  We have a great technology park in Fayetteville. They are trying to 
build one in Little Rock. All of these--and the focus on STEM, et 
cetera--all of these help create jobs and grow our economy.
  Congress needs to focus on that. I am not saying it is going to be 
easy, but we need to work together. We need to pass a budget. We need 
to move our appropriations bills through the process. And we just need 
to, bottom line, get back on track. The way to move our economy forward 
is by really putting the interests of our country first and not these 
partisan and sometimes petty disputes, ideological disputes. We need to 
think about what is best long term for the country. Again, I think the 
appropriations process is the way to do that.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.

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