Arlen Specter: “I am a little at a loss to hear the Senator from Arizona talking about reopening the Navy shipyard. Maybe it is a good…”

“I am a little at a loss to hear the Senator from Arizona talking about reopening the Navy shipyard. Maybe it is a good idea but it is not my idea. It is not my idea today. This $40 million has already been appropriated. It was done in the Omnibus appropriations bill last year in regular order. So contrary to what the Senator from Arizona says, we are not talking about appropriating $40 million. What we are talking about is clarifying the purpose for which $40 million has been appropriated. While the Senator from Arizona may not think there is the realism of a high-speed military sealift, these fast ships can move military cargo as fast as they can be transported by air. I hate to repeat myself. I have already done it once. There is no outlay of money. This money has been appropriated. It is a direction to the Department of the Navy as to how it is being expended for a very important purpose. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona. Mr. McCAIN. The Senator from Pennsylvania is correct. It was in last year's Omnibus appropriations bill, it was not in the Defense appropriations bill. It was not authorized in the Defense authorization bill. Let me tell you what is so egregious about it. In the appropriations bill, in the Omnibus appropriations bill, it says, blah, blah, blah: . . . for a grant to Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, to be used solely for the purpose of construction, by and for a Philadelphia-based company. . . .…”