As Chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, Barbara Boxer may be the single most important voice on the future of Obama administration's six-year transportation proposal. And yesterday, the California Democrat gave her qualified endorsement to the President's transformative plan.
In a statement to the press, Boxer praised the White House's proposal, promising to work to build bipartisan support:
While I may not agree with everything in it, the President’s budget reflects the need to cut the deficit in a responsible way. It stands in sharp contrast to the Republicans’ budget, which is so extreme that it would jeopardize our fragile economic recovery.
I commend the President for his investment in transportation, which will create and save millions of jobs and ensure that our country can compete in the 21st century. I’ve already begun reaching across the aisle to build support for a robust surface transportation bill that will accelerate our economic recovery and build the foundation for long-term prosperity.
Since its release yesterday, the Obama administration's six-year, $556 billion transportation plan has sparked questions about its viability in a Congress where the Republican-controlled House has promised draconian spending cuts. And it didn't take long for the House GOP leadership to blast the transportation plan.
The support of a key Senate committee chair, however, is an encouraging early sign in what is likely to be a long and tortuous road to adoption.
