Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Programs for the Fiscal Year End September 30, 2012, and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, as the ranking member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, I rise in support of this conference report, and I encourage our colleagues to join me in voting for this measure.

Let me first thank Chairman Patty Murray and her staff who worked collaboratively with me and with my talented staff throughout this entire process. I also wish to thank Chairman Kohl, Ranking Member Blunt, Chairman Mikulski, Ranking Member Hutchison, and of course the leaders of the full Appropriations Committee, Senator Inouye and Senator Cochran. All of us have worked closely together to usher this first group of appropriations bills to final passage.

I am particularly pleased that we brought these appropriations bills to the floor through the regular order enabling members to examine, debate, and vote in a fair and transparent process. That is a big change from the approach that has, unfortunately, marred the process in previous years when all the appropriations bills--or nearly all of them--were bundled into one enormous omnibus bill that was considered at the last moment in a rushed manner and without the opportunity for full and fair debate and amendment. We didn't do it that way this time, and I think that represents progress.

I am also pleased this conference report contains provisions that are important to the State of Maine.

The Transportation-HUD bill recognizes the fiscal reality of what is now an unsustainable $15 trillion debt, while making critical infrastructure and economic development investments that will help to create jobs. In this bill, we are also meeting our responsibility to very vulnerable populations in our country. The bill strikes the right balance between thoughtful investment and fiscal restraint, thereby setting the stage for future economic growth. The proposed nonemergency funding levels for fiscal year 2012 in this bill are nearly $13 billion below fiscal year 2010, a reduction of nearly one-fifth in 2 years' time. These significant savings represent an unmistakable commitment and movement in the direction of fiscal responsibility.

For those reasons, and for many more, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this conference report.

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I wanted to add to my earlier remarks in support of the FY 2012 conference report which includes language I co-authored along with Senator LEAHY allowing the heaviest trucks to travel on the interstate highways in Maine and Vermont rather than forcing them onto secondary roads and downtown streets.
Currently, the heaviest trucks in Maine are diverted onto secondary roadways that cut through our downtowns on narrow streets. This creates a major safety concern. It simply makes no sense to force heavier trucks off the highway and onto our smaller roads, jeopardizing the safety of both drivers and pedestrians.

In 2009, I authored a pilot project that allowed trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on Maine's Federal interstates for 1 year. According to the Maine Department of Transportation, the number of accidents involving trucks decreased. During the 1-year period covered by the pilot, the number of crashes involving trucks on Maine's local roads was reduced by 72 compared to a 5-year average. This information and other data gathered during the pilot provide proof that this language will increase safety.

In a case study of a freight trip following this route from Hampden to Houlton, when these trucks were allowed to use I-95 rather than Route 2, the driver avoided 300 intersections, 4 hospitals, 30 traffic lights, 9 school crossings, 4 railroad crossings, and 86 crosswalks.

Virtually every safety group in Maine supports this language. These groups include the Maine Association of Police, the Maine State Police, the State Troopers Association, the Maine Department of Public Safety, and the Maine Chiefs of Police. This language is also supported by education and child advocacy groups such as Maine Parent Teachers Association and the Maine School Superintendents Association.

Let me make clear: my amendment does not increase the size or weight of Maine trucks. The only question is on which roads they are allowed to travel.

This has been a long and hard-fought battle. But I am delighted that I was able to convince my colleagues in both the House and Senate to support my provision to allow the heaviest trucks to drive on Federal highways in Maine.

I also want to voice my support for the Agriculture Appropriations title of this legislation. I am particularly appreciative of the efforts of the chairman and ranking member of the Agriculture Subcommittee, Senators KOHL and BLUNT, and their staffs for their diligent work to move this legislation forward.

I also want to thank my colleague, Senator MARK UDALL, for joining me in co-authoring an amendment to ensure that schools continue to have the flexibility they need to serve children nutritious meals at an affordable cost. We worked with Members from both sides of the aisle and from across the country in crafting a bipartisan amendment that achieves this goal.

Our efforts will go a long way in ensuring that schools can serve healthy meals that meet the nutritional needs of students in a way that fits their budgets. The language overturns arbitrary restrictions proposed by the USDA that would have so restricted the use of potatoes in the school lunch program that a school could not have served a baked potato and an ear of fresh corn in the same week--an absurd result.

We heard from many school advocacy organizations and school and school food service professionals that the rule as proposed was too prescriptive, too limiting, and too expensive. USDA estimates that the opposed rule would have cost as much as $6.8 billion over 5 years. The lion's share of these costs would have been incurred by the state and local agencies.

We were pleased to have the support of the American Association of School Administrators, National School Boards Association, Council of the Great City Schools, National Association of Elementary School Principals, Maine Parent Teacher Association, Maine School Management Association, Maine Principals Association, Maine Department of Education, and so many more.

Mr. President, for these and many other reasons I am proud to support the FY 2012 conference report.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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