Frank Lautenberg: “I hear the Senator from Montana's interests and concerns. I know that he is sincere. We have worked together for many…”

“I hear the Senator from Montana's interests and concerns. I know that he is sincere. We have worked together for many years, as I had with the chairman of the committee. But if this bill goes as it is, the chances for recovery, I think, are pretty slim. And once in place, we will be running uphill to try and recover. What I would rather see is some kind of a consensus developed that includes the States that are now disadvantaged. I was looking at the States and I see that percentage points in a State that borders both of our States--Pennsylvania--is down to 20-some percent from its formula share from where it was --22 percent, I think. We can't deal in this room, at the moment, with the poor fate that befell Pennsylvania. I don't know how their Senators are going to respond to it. I think if an adjustment is going to be made in the formula, there has to be a period of transition so that States are held harmless from where they were as adjustments take place. This isn't to suggest that review is out of order, not at all. I think reviews of the formula are always in order. But I think the Senator from Maryland made an important contribution to this debate when he highlighted the national interests and national obligations that some of our States have, being corridor States, as expressed earlier by the Senator from Illinois. A corridor that runs east and west produces a lot of traffic through the State of Illinois.”