David Obey: “I would simply point out to both of the gentlemen who have just spoken from the Committee on Transportation and…”

“I would simply point out to both of the gentlemen who have just spoken from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that I warned the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure before the election when we debated this that they were going to be short-sheeted on this continuing resolution, and that has now, unfortunately, come to pass. So I would say that I agree with the observations of the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), all but one of them. I would also say that it is not true that only highways are being hurt by this continuing resolution. The National Institutes of Health will encounter a severe problem in issuing their grants for the year. Veterans will not be able to have the backlogs dealt with in terms of veterans health care. The Securities and Exchange Commission is not going to be funded at the level that was promised in the authorization bill before the election. We are not going to see the Medicare give-backs that our providers around the country were looking for. There are going to be all kinds of other problems as well as the highway problem. So I think there are a good many reasons, including the highway problem, to vote against this rule and against this resolution.”