House to Vote on Extending Surface Transportation Act

HOUSE TO VOTE ON EXTENDING SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - April 28, 2004)

(Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today in a couple of moments the House of Representatives will vote on extending the Surface Transportation Act. The hang-up? The President's threat to veto a bill that is not a 10 percent cut in transportation funding over the next 6 years, even though his own Department of Transportation says that we should be spending half again as much as he proposes.

Earlier the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill that would move us in the right direction. The Senate overwhelmingly approved on a bipartisan basis even a larger bill. This is supported by the broadest coalition in the history of infrastructure in this country, from the Sierra Club to the Chamber of Commerce.

Now is the time for the House to reaffirm its strong support, resist calls for cuts that will set America back for the next 6 years, so we will not have to play catchup for a generation.

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