Arlen Specter: “while I am very pleased with the allocations for Pennsylvania, I am voting against the ISTEA conference report because…”

“while I am very pleased with the allocations for Pennsylvania, I am voting against the ISTEA conference report because the offsets hit the veterans' accounts so hard. I compliment House of Representatives Chairman Bud Shuster and Senate Chairman John Chafee on their extraordinary diligence and accomplishments as lead negotiators on this mammoth bill. I work closely with them in Pennsylvania's infrastructure's needs and I thank them for the accommodations on Pennsylvania's roads, bridges and mass transit systems. In seeking total offsets of $17.7 billion, the veterans' accounts have been hit for $15.367 billion and 86.8% of the total offsets. As the Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and a chief advocate for veterans' interests, I believe this is excessively disproportion. There is an additional $25 billion in the highway trust fund. I am advised that $25 billion will yield approximately $6 billion in interest over the next six years. Those funds could have been used for the offset or at least part of the offset; or other funds could have been found for a part of the offset. Accordingly, I register this protest vote. My concern for this veterans' offset is consistent with my position during consideration of the FY '99 Budget Resolution when I opposed this large offset in the veterans' accounts. I shall work to try to recoup these offsets from the veterans' accounts as we move forward in the appropriations process.”