i will always admire jim inhofe for the work -- i'll be darned, here he is. i will always admire jim inhofe for the manner in which he approached this important piece of legislation. and we passed out accolades on this floor about everyone, how hard they worked. but we would not be able to get this bill done except for jim inhofe. fact -- fact. so i'm disappointed we scant do things -- we can't do things tonight. as the chairman of the committee, chairman of the judiciary committee just said, we would stay here tonight on our side, you know, until the wii hours of the -- until the wee hours of the morning because we have some things -- i was scheduled to be in lake tahoe to. but i can't be there. and other people have certainly more important trips than that. but that's one of the things that we have to face with these jobs that we have, which are a tremendous privilege but sometimes we don't have the ability as the governor does, the president does, a member of the court does, to just say the schedule this way. that is not the way it works here. there are 10

now, there is one senator, jim inhofe from oklahoma, who says his staff refused to meet with mcgurk because of the e-mails. and won't do it until the questions are answered. george? >> jake, thank you very much. >>> and now, to excitement at the track. we're looking, live, at belmont park. that's belmont, where thoroughbred i'll have another, may capture the third jewel in the triple crown. it would be the first time it's been done in more than three decades. abc's ron claiborne is live at belmont, with much, much more. good morning, ron. >> reporter: good morning to you, robin. a mile and a half, the belmont stakes is called the test of champions. it could also be called the graveyard of triple crown hopes. i'll have another is trying to become just 1 of 11 horses in the history of these 3 races that have been all 3 of these big races. >> i'll have another did it. to win the preakness. and the triple crown will be on the line at belmont park. >> reporter: i'll have another was impressive winning the preakness. the second jewel in the triple crown. now, all eyes are on the 3-year-old colt t

the senate we have a senate transportation bill where people as conservative as the republican jim inhofe, the ranking member of the surface transportation, has approved this. it passed 3/4 of the senate approved. why can't we just accept it? get it done? we are talking about almost three million jobs that would be saved or created. we are in desperate need of jobs . jobs in this country. they are going to have a lasting dividend once we improve our roads and our bridges and our public transit systems. we need to get this done. the american people have been waiting 2 1/2 years for this surface transportation bill. that's why they have a motion to i struck is so important, why i support mr. hoyer because this is what the american people want. the fact is that while it maintains current funding levels for highway and public transportation, consolidates highway programs, any number of things, we can agree it's not perfect. but it's the best we can do and the american people deserve it. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. shuster: i yield mys

senator barbara boxer, chairman of the environment and public works committee, as well as senator jim inhofe, the ranking republican member from oklahoma, reached an agreement, brought a bill to the floor, we went through the long process of amendments, and it passed. i think the final roll call was 74-22. it was an overwhelming bipartisan vote that extended for two years highway construction in america and creates 2.8 million jobs. well, obviously, that's something that's good for america. the question that should be asked is, well, where was the house transportation bill? the honest answer is, they never produced one -- never. they couldn't agree hon a bill. the house republicans failed to pass a transportation bill. ultimately, they passed a measure to extend the current highway trust fund and taxes that are collected to july 1, just a few weeks from now. and then the majority leader appointed a conference committee -- i'm honored to be on that committee with a number of my colleagues. i can't tell you how hard senator boxer and senator inhofe have worked on that committee. this bipartisa

. >> barbara boxer and jim inhofe talk about strange bed fellows. >> can't get more bi-partisan thancan't take yes for a answer. >> absolutely. i will tell you when i am home which is all the time now you know, we just finished our ninth week of recess this year with this congress. and yesterday, the rule that we were voting on was to have a motion to adjourn for the 10th week this year. >> i want to stop you therefore a second. wait a minute. we are june, end of june. okay? ? >> yeah. >> so roughly, six times 24 weeks and you have had nine weeks of recess? >> yeah. absolutely. >> how do you like that deal, peter? >> i take it. i would take it in a heart beat. >> can we recess? >> you can. >> it would make homer simpson blurb blush. again, we are going back home next week. >> a couple of days to get ready and a couple of days to recovery. >> portman is supposed to be home for independence day. when i was home last week to finish this up, i was talking to some of the building contractors in connecticut who are sitting there with unemployed work force, idle machinery, a list of project

but if jim inhofe from oklahoma, the ranking member of the environment and public works committee, and barbara boxer, the chair of that committee, can come together and figure out how to put together a transportation bill, there is no reason why our adjoining body over in the house can't do the same thing. and i have been very disturbed by recent news that the house is less interested in finishing this bill than in approving a hose of unrelatehost of unrelat. now, there's a time and a place for to us consider whether some of the amendments that have been proposed on the transportation bill in the house, like whether coal ash should be regulated as a hazardous material or not, but the transportation bill is not one of those places. we need to focus on policies that will encourage the types of investment in our highways, in our railroads, in our bridges that put americans back to work and spur economic growth. here we are. we just heard the unemployment rate went up slightly for the last month. we have legislation pending that came out of the senate that would put people back to work. ev