David Obey: “I do not think anyone who is raising questions tonight is trying to do anything except meet our constitutional…”

“I do not think anyone who is raising questions tonight is trying to do anything except meet our constitutional responsibilities to know what we are doing before we spend taxpayers' money. Now, the gentleman from Alaska is a good friend of all of ours; and he has conveyed to us a sense of urgency and he has also conveyed the message that somehow if we do not do what he wants, do it on the basis of almost no explanation and something bad happens, it is our fault. I would suggest I would like to have fewer threats and more information. How about less rhetoric and more information. I would like to ask some questions. We have had no hearings on this. We have had no statement of position from the administration. My staff was told by some proponents of this proposition that OMB was in fact recommending it. When we called OMB, they indicated that while they had a person in the room, that person was there for observation purposes and as a resource only; that they did not have a position.”