[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12800]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE HIGHWAY BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, ``there is no such thing as a 
Republican road or a Democrat road.'' That is what Chairman Inhofe said 
a few days ago, and he is absolutely right. No wonder Republicans and 
Democrats continue to rally around a bipartisan, multiyear highway 
measure that is fiscally responsible and will not raise taxes.
  The bill before us would streamline regulations, advance research and 
innovation in transportation, modernize infrastructure and 
transportation systems, and inject new accountability measures so 
Americans can get a better handle on how their tax money is actually 
being spent.
  This multiyear bill also reverses the trend of short-term temporary 
patches, giving State and local Governments the certainty and the 
stability they need to better plan road and bridge projects. On top of 
that, the bill would also provide State and local Governments with more 
flexible options for stretching those transportation dollars.
  So this is a good bill for our country. Substantial numbers of 
Republicans and Democrats continue to support it. But time is running 
out to get this bill through Congress. We are up against a deadline at 
the end of the week. Jobs are on the line. Important infrastructure 
projects are too. So we have to get the job done--and we are.
  We have had to navigate some especially difficult political terrain 
to get this far already. It hasn't always been easy, but we are now 
nearing completion of the Senate's work on this bill.
  If the bipartisan coalition supporting this fiscally responsible, 
multiyear bill continues to cooperate and work hard, I know we can get 
there.
  I want to thank every colleague who has worked so hard already on 
this bill, particularly Chairman Inhofe and Senator Boxer, who have 
really done magnificent work to get us to this point. Let's hope we can 
all get it across the finish line.

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