[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 5944]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      HIGHWAY TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS ACT OF 2007--MOTION TO PROCEED

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 1195, 
which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to consideration of Calendar No. 608, a 
     bill (H.R. 1195) to amend the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
     Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, to 
     make technical corrections, and for other purposes.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from California is 
recognized.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am very hopeful we can move this bill. 
When my kids were a little younger, they used to say: Mom, it is a no-
brainer.
  This is a no-brainer. This is something we need to do. We passed a 
very important bill several years ago that funds our highways and our 
transit. As often happens--because the years pass and the studies take 
place and you find there were errors in such a big bill that 
encompasses so many programs--there were certain very important 
transportation projects, highway projects that got stymied because of a 
technical problem. We also had one account that was oversubscribed and 
we need to make some fixes there because that particular account funds 
research into the state of our bridges, our highways, our transit 
systems, and we all know with bridges collapsing in America today, we 
can't short ourselves on the funding. We need to find out exactly what 
is the state of our fiscal infrastructure.
  In a great economy, you can't move people and you can't move goods 
without a transportation infrastructure. That means roads that are not 
falling apart, bridges that are not falling apart, transit systems that 
work. Especially in this time of more awareness of being efficient, 
energy efficient, all of this works together as we look at global 
warming and the best ways to combat that.
  This is a very simple bill. Why are we standing here without actually 
voting on a few amendments that we know some of my Republican friends 
have? It is because there is a move by some Republican Senators to slow 
us down, slow down our work. My colleagues heard about it previous to 
my taking the floor today. Several colleagues talked about the 
unprecedented number of filibusters.
  But I have to say on the bright side, this is a bill that Senator 
Inhofe and I have worked very closely on. We agree on it. It is 
bipartisan in nature. There are a couple of colleagues who don't like a 
couple of things in here. We will deal with that. We will deal with it, 
but let's get moving. It seems a shame to have the Presiding Officer 
sitting in the chair in front of an empty Chamber while the time clicks 
away and we can't get anything done on a technical corrections bill.
  I might say everyone is quite aware that we are in an economic 
slowdown. I look at this bill as a little bit of a ministimulus 
package, because it will unleash about $1 billion for very important 
projects already approved. It will unleash those funds. For every 
billion dollars, tens of thousands of new jobs are created in the 
construction industry. We have a very long list of people supporting us 
on this bill. Again, I call on my friends and colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle who for some reason are holding up this bill: Please. 
We are willing to have votes on your objections in the form of an 
amendment. We are willing to work with you. We want to get this bill 
done. The American people need this bill done. There is no reason to 
get it caught up in other political arguments and questions.
  I hope I can come out here in short order with the news that my 
Republican friends have decided to let us go to the amendment process 
so we can move forward and complete our work on this bill.
  At this point I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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