David Obey: “I want to continue my observations about what the gentleman receives from the Federal budget. The Republican Study…”

“I want to continue my observations about what the gentleman receives from the Federal budget. The Republican Study Committee said that the $1.5 billion that was provided to the D.C. subway was the largest earmark in history. In fact, the Arizona project is almost four times as large as the D.C. subway. Yet the gentleman is complaining about a tiny $400,000 economic assistance grant for my State. I would also simply note that the median household income in the gentleman's district is $48,000. The median household income in my own district is $39,000, a $9,000 difference. A good portion of that higher median income lies in the fact that Arizona has a very large number of Federal installations in the gentleman's State. Fort Huachuca and several other Air Force bases inject enough funds to provide employment for 9,000 additional people, yet the gentleman is objecting to a small revolving loan fund which provides help in keeping about 50 jobs in Wisconsin. I make no apology in trying to get the median family income in my district just a mite closer to the much higher income found in the gentleman's district.”