Jim Inhofe: “I appreciate the comments, even though I disagree with them, of the Senator from New Jersey. I know he is sincere. I…”

“I appreciate the comments, even though I disagree with them, of the Senator from New Jersey. I know he is sincere. I know there is a problem and he is trying to correct the problem and there is an honest difference of opinion. I ask unanimous consent that a letter from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposing the Corzine amendment, a letter from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association opposing the Lautenberg- Corzine amendment, and also a letter from the Transportation Construction Coalition, which is, I believe, almost every labor union in the United States, be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, Washington, DC, May 10, 2005. Hon. Daniel Akaka, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Akaka: As the Senate continues debate on H.R. 3, the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-2l), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes an amendment by Senators John Corzine (D-NJ) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) that attempts to change federal competitive highway and transit contracting rules. For over 25 years, federal law has forbidden states from implementing ``pay-to-play'' provisions for state highway and transit construction contracts (23 USC Sec. 112).…”