Sen. Bob Graham: “I am pleased to support the amendment offered by the Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain]. This amendment would rescind…”

“I am pleased to support the amendment offered by the Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain]. This amendment would rescind highway demonstration projects which have not begun construction. The list, submitted by President Clinton as part of the 1995 budget, totals over $2.2 billion. Each dollar which is spent on a demonstration project is taken either from deficit reduction or from a rational allocation process which awards highway funds based on their merits. This Nation has tremendous infrastructure needs, and our annual transportation appropriations cannot come close to meeting those needs. Fortunately, most Federal highway money is distributed according to a thorough planning process by which States and metropolitan areas prioritize their projects and proceed only with those that top the priority list. In every State and community, high-priority projects go unfunded for a lack of money. Given these severe constraints, we simply cannot afford to divert Federal funds to the pet projects of Members of Congress.”