Speech

May 27, 2009

Jobs & Transportation Package, House Bill 2001-B, House Floor

Representative David Edwards

Esteemed colleagues,

I rise in support of HB 2001-B, not because I believe it is the best that can be conceived, but because it is the best that can be achieved. Like the finest collaborative works, this bill has the finish of a handsome clock. It is framed with fine materials. It boasts an impressive number of moving parts. And it serves an imminently useful purpose. In this case, the purpose is multifaceted: to extend the useful life of our existing transportation infrastructure; to ease congestion; to move freight with greater alacrity; to excite new ways of planning our transportation future; and most importantly, to put Oregonians back to work.

What this bill may lack in imaginative power, it compensates for in completeness. The bipartisan team that put this bill together was not content to merely set the hammer to make the clock strike; it worked on the main wheel and the dozens of adjoining gears to ensure it will strike regularly and true. This measure is fitted to its several purposes and as a consequence, is balanced in scope and function. Some will doubtless dispute this claim, in part, because achieving balance may be frustrated by too much or by too little. But I would point to last Friday’s unanimous ‘do pass’ recommendation from the Special Committee on Transportation as evidence a certain ideological balance has been attained. And even if your opinion differs, I urge you to consider the wisdom of Einstein regarding bicycles: “To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

The clock is ticking. We have an estimated annual backlog of $800 million worth of maintenance needs on our state highways alone. Our transportation problems will not wait for us to act and solving them is like saving for retirement—the longer we wait, the harder it gets. However imperfect, this measure affirms our shared commitment to provide for our collective future and is a vital testament to bipartisan cooperation. In this time of economic crisis, the people we serve rightly demand we resist the partisan temptations of the moment and instead, seize on this grand opportunity only joint action can make possible.

Please join me in voting ‘Aye’ on HB 2001-B.

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