Specter visits Waynesburg to sample public opinion
WAYNESBURG – It was an auspicious day in Waynesburg on Thursday when U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter came to town to speak with people about the issues that they feel are important to them.
Specter, R-Pa., spoke at the Performing Arts Center at Waynesburg University. He said that the main reason he holds the town hall meetings is because he wants people to know that officials in Washington, D.C., have not forgotten them. “I care what happens to people out here and I want them to know that they don’t have to be in Philly to rate a visit from a senator.”
The senator fielded questions from a crowd of about 40 students and residents at the university on topics ranging from equality for the disabled to prison reform.
Specter, who comes from a military background, told the audience that he does not support the offsetting of military pay and is committed to take a look at the issue.
He also addressed questions regarding the Patriot Act.
“The act imposed a lot of restrictions and things have happened are not right,” Specter said.
He referred to the records of a newspaper in Thailand specifically where the government looked into their records as being wrong.
When an audience member inquired about speculation that active military personnel were being given drugs not approved by the FDA, Specter said he was unaware of any such activities.
He recalled this happening in military history but said he would be surprised if it were happening again and he would look into the matter.
Several residents, among them a group of people with physical disabilities, were there to thank Specter for the work that he has done on their behalf.
On the matter of prison reform, a mother told Specter that her son is in prison for life for a crime he witnessed but did not commit. He was convicted for leaving the scene and not doing anything, according to her.
Specter said that he has felt strongly about the issue of reform for the juvenile judicial system because he was a district attorney in Philadelphia.
“Senator (Joseph) Biden and I proposed the Second Chance Act that was signed into law by President Bush a few months ago,” he said. “I have always believed in the opportunity for rehabilitation for juvenile offenders.”
He said that this precluded those who are tried as adults for committing a murder.
On the matter of educational funding, Specter said after the meeting that he believes there needs to be reform.
“There are big problems with the way it is funded,” he said.
He further said that he believes there needs to be a top-to-bottom overhaul of the way the budget is appropriated, to everything from homeland security to defense and education.
Specter said that he did not support infringement on state’s rights to determine how their local and state tax dollars are spent.
When asked about the war in Iraq, Specter said that there have been a lot of troops who have been deployed too long and too many times.
“There is a lot of repeat deployments happening to Iraq by our soldiers and there is fatigue in the military forces,” he said. “The most recent talk I have heard is that there was a compromise with Iraq to withdraw the troops by 2011. There is a caveat to that if the situation gets worse. I think we are pretty close to coming out.”
Specter has conducted open house meetings in numerous counties throughout the state this past week. He said he plans to visit all 67 counties in the state and hold town meetings during the August recess.
herald_standa477:
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20096841