Arlen Specter

May 20, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will allocate $142,720,815 in federal funding to transportation projects in Pennsylvania. The funds are enabled by the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“I am pleased the stimulus funds are benefiting Pennsylvania’s important transportation projects,” Specter said. “By advancing our roadways and mass transit infrastructure, this funding will reduce congestion, as well as our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil.”    » read more »

April 28, 2009 -- "It's clear to us that the right-wing conservatives in control of the leadership of the Republican party in Pennsylvania left Senator Specter long ago and we are pleased that he has decided to do the same.

"Just as he did with his leadership on the economic stimulus bill, Senator Specter has once again demonstrated the political courage it takes to put the interests of the working families of Pennsylvania ahead of partisanship. We have always had tremendous common ground with Senator Specter on issues important to working families including the need for reform to our nation's labor laws.

"We look forward to continuing our long history of working with Senator Specter to create positive change for the working families of Pennsylvania."

Source: SEIU

April 28, 2009 -- "I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation.

Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.    » read more »

March 24, 2009 -- Today’s announcement by Sen. Specter – a sponsor of the original Employee Free Choice Act who voted for cloture in 2007 – is frankly a disappointment and a rebuke to working people, to his own constituents in Pennsylvania and working families around the country.

The fact is the Employee Free Choice Act has more support than ever – large majorities in both houses of Congress, the President and Vice President, 73 percent of the public. We will continue to work with Democrats and a number of Republicans to create commonsense solutions to the decades of corporate power.

We do not plan to let a hardball campaign from Big Business derail the Employee Free Choice Act or the dreams of workers.    » read more »

March 24, 2009 -- In the middle of this economic crisis, passing the Employee Free Choice Act is exactly the right thing to do to give workers the chance to level the playing field. Majority Leader Reid said today, and as even Sen. Specter acknowledges, we need strong labor reform. Now more than ever, America's workers need a choice, free from intimidation and harassment, to bargain for job security, better wages and health care. Our President, Vice President and majorities in both houses of Congress share this goal, and we will not stop in our efforts to achieve it.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- August 11, 2008 -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) sent a letter Monday to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller pressing the Director to provide more information to Committee members about the misuse of so-called “exigent letters.” Press accounts last week revealed that Mueller apologized to editors at The New York Times and The Washington Post for a 2004 breach of Department of Justice guidelines regarding subpoenas for reporters’ phone records.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- June 3, 2008 -- Mr. SPECTER. I thank the Chair. It has been a little tough getting these 15 minutes, but I am glad to have them.

Mr. WARNER. The Senator showed courtesy in getting them.

Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I sought recognition to discuss a number of amendments which I will be proposing to offer. I intend to offer an amendment on emission caps because of my concern that the emission caps which are set in the Lieberman-Warner bill cannot be obtained.    » read more »

“I think it is vital that we move ahead on this issue, and I intend to vote ‘yes’ on the motion to proceed.”

Washington, D.C. -- June 2, 2008 -- Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) today spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate in regards to the current debate on the Lieberman-Warner “Climate Security Act” (S.3036).

A transcript of his floor statement follows. The extensive floor statement he references in his speech is attached.

“Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for squeezing me in for five minutes. I have sought this time to talk very briefly about the Bingaman-Specter bill which is aimed at solving the problem of global warming, but is somewhat more moderate than the Warner-Lieberman bill.    » read more »

Region Needs Peacekeeping Forces, Helicopters to Help End the Genocide

May 22, 2008 -- Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) today sent a letter to President Bush urging him to take definitive action in Darfur. Senator Specter joined with 29 colleagues in the U.S. Senate in appealing to the President to “use all the power of the White House to ensure that (his) legacy includes definitive action in Darfur.”

Rebel vehicles in Sudan: Photo by Andrew Heavens (CC)    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- May 21, 2008 -- Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned the top oil industry executives on the skyrocketing price of oil at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

In his opening remarks, Senator Specter noted the primacy of the problem:

Gas prices, May 2008: Photo by aaron@digtialcole (CC)

“We are obviously in a crisis, national, international, with the escalating costs of oil and the intolerable prices of gasoline at the pump. It's important that we bear all of our resources to try to figure out what to do about it.”    » read more »

May 20, 2008 - Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) today questioned Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2009 budget request. Senator Specter used the opportunity to question Secretary Gates on the issue of talks with Iran.

During his opening remarks, Senator Specter also spoke in regards to the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen that killed 17 U.S. sailors. Many of the terrorists convicted in the attack have since escaped from prison or been freed by Yemeni officials. “I’d like to explore the reasons for that and whether we couldn’t have some leverage to see to it that those terrorists are brought to justice,” said Senator Specter.    » read more »

Floor Statement On New England Patriots Videotaping

Washington, D.C. -- May 14, 2008 -- I. WHAT WE KNOW:

(1) The Patriots engaged in extensive videotaping of opponents’ offensive and defensive signals starting on August 20, 2000 and extending to September 9, 2007, when they were publicly caught videotaping the Jets.

New England Patriots cheerleaders: Photo by Paul Keleher (CC)    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- May 7, 2008 -- U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and U.S. Representative Peter King (R-NY), Ranking Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, today announced the introduction of the Free Speech Protection Act of 2008.

This bill would protect American journalists from libel suits brought in foreign courts that do not have the same protections for free speech that are found in the U.S. constitution. It mirrors H.R. 5814, legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative King.    » read more »

Amendments Follow Specter’s Field Hearing on Philadelphia International Airport

May 5, 2008 -- U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) filed two amendments to the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act which is currently being considered by the Senate.

Rocking chairs at Philadelphia International Airport: Photo by Jon Protas (CC)

The amendments seek to reduce overflights over Delaware County and delays caused by flight over-scheduling at Philadelphia International Airport. Senator Specter investigated both of these issues at a field hearing he convened in Philadelphia on Friday, April 25th.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- April 15, 2008 -- Senator Arlen Specter today announced that he has been diagnosed with an early recurrence of Hodgkin’s disease. Hodgkin’s disease is a cancer of the lymph system.

Senator Specter’s recurrence was diagnosed based on a routine follow-up PET scan (Positron Emission Tomography) which showed small lymph nodes in his chest and abdomen.

Senator Arlen Specter: Photo by musicFIRSTcoalition (CC)

A follow-up biopsy of one of the chest lymph nodes was positive for recurrence. A bone marrow biopsy was negative.    » read more »