There are a lot of good things in the transportation bill, including provisions I have authored and worked on for many years — like dedicated funding for small city and township roads, the desperately-needed support for our deputy registrars, and much more. These are all extremely important. But there are also a lot of things I am deeply concerned about, nothing more so than raising taxes by $2.7 billion when Minnesotans are struggling with inflation. I voted in favor of this bill for one reason, and one reason only: to participate in a conference committee with the House of Representatives, so I can keep working on the bill and make it better for Minnesota. We still have an opportunity to build a bipartisan transportation bill that funds roads and bridges throughout the state, without raising taxes on Minnesotans.”