Arlen Specter: “I had, frankly, hoped to avoid the necessity of a rollcall vote to spare my colleagues a vote on the matter. But I felt…”

“I had, frankly, hoped to avoid the necessity of a rollcall vote to spare my colleagues a vote on the matter. But I felt, and continue to feel very, very strongly, that it is incumbent upon the U.S. Senate and the Congress to have oversight hearings in order to show the American people--a lot of people think there has been a coverup on Ruby Ridge, ID, and Waco, TX--and to show those people we are willing to air all of the matters, let the chips fall where they may, and demonstrate that people at the highest ranks of Government will be held accountable. No one is second to Arlen Specter in concern that the FBI have a full opportunity to complete its investigation. I talked to Director Freeh, who said if he had 8 to 10 weeks more there would be ample time and the FBI would be in a position to cooperate. And this is more than the 8 to 10 weeks that Director Freeh asked for when the amendment was modified beyond the June 30 date, to provide for a date of August 4. I believe that the potential for violence is enormous. We have had a number of wake-up calls. And it is no coincidence that the Oklahoma City bombing occurred on April 19, 2 years to the day after the incident at Waco, TX. If anything happens in the interim, if we have not had the ventilation, the safety valve, then there is a real issue as to whether the U.S. Senate is doing its job.”