William Pryor: “I, too, rise and join my colleague from Mississippi in his very eloquent remarks, and my colleague from Ohio. I know the…”

“I, too, rise and join my colleague from Mississippi in his very eloquent remarks, and my colleague from Ohio. I know the Senator from Illinois is waiting to speak in a few moments. I rise in opposition to the Allen amendment. I understand the intentions, but I think the statistics and the numbers and the reality make it clear that the American people are better off under the provisions as they currently exist in the bill. More States benefit from the Senate Commerce primary belt law provision. There are 19 States currently that have primary seatbelt laws on their books and they will qualify for funding immediately. Only 14 States have an 85- percent seatbelt use rate, according to the 2004 numbers. That is what you need to qualify under the terms of this amendment. So more people would benefit and be rewarded for having the primary seatbelt law. I think the provisions of the Commerce Committee's bill guarantee funding if the State does one thing, and that is either have or pass a primary belt law. Under the amendment we are talking about right now, a State has no certainty that any action it takes will increase belt use that will result in 85-percent or higher rate use. This amendment would, if enacted, abandon a very important goal, and that is, for several years the Department of Transportation has set a goal of 90-percent seatbelt usage. The amendment in question would set a goal basically at 85 percent. I have a concern.…”