Arlen Specter: “this effort to retain the McFarland is not being undertaken for historical reasons. To talk about placing the McFarland…”

“this effort to retain the McFarland is not being undertaken for historical reasons. To talk about placing the McFarland in a museum is making light of an issue which is very, very serious for my State. It is potentially serious for about two-thirds of the other States in the United States which are affected by hurricanes and which have very important national security areas. This amendment is being pursued at the request of the Governor of Pennsylvania and the Maritime Exchange. They are deadly serious about the adverse impact of retiring the McFarland. On the Delaware River alone the McFarland helps maintain a shipping channel that supports 38 million metric tons of cargo per year, a total value of $14 million. That ranks second and eighth in the Nation. We are not talking about a museum piece. We are talking about a dredge which is vital for jobs and the economy of the region. We are talking about the McFarland's availability to respond to emergency blockades at the Department of Defense designated strategic military seaports. You are not talking about an antique. You are talking about an era where terrorism is an ongoing threat; where, within the past 2 weeks, we had a threat by terrorists to blow up the Holland Tunnel; where the President has a terrorist surveillance program which has superseded the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and is viewed under the President's article II powers as a wartime precedent because of the threat of terrorism.…”