James Oberstar: “I join in the gentleman's indignation, to put it mildly, over these attacks that are totally unjustified, unfounded, and…”

“I join in the gentleman's indignation, to put it mildly, over these attacks that are totally unjustified, unfounded, and inappropriate for Members of this body to make. First of all, the projects in question have gone through a very thorough and careful vetting process according to a 14-point outline that the committee fashioned, which includes a requirement that the project be on the State's priority or State's future project development list. The points that are included in the review of projects are all the points that States use to measure validity of projects that their transportation departments will fund. After reviewing all of these projects and ensuring that they meet standards accepted by States and that these are projects necessary in a Member's district, we accept the Member's judgment as to what is necessary for his or her district, and those projects are included in this package, as was done in 1991 in the previous transportation bill. I do not approve, I am offended by the use of language and by the accusations made.”