Arlen Specter is a Republican
member of the Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee. I like to
call guys like him a "fence sitter".
He does just enough to skate
on by with his name attached
to our constituency as Veterans,
but not enough to really be a
DOER in this great legislative
Congress that we have when
looking over his sponsored
legislation. His Bills are, in
fact, all over the place so
trying to nail him down
on what his pet interests are
is not exactly as clear as
some of his congressional
counterparts.

Arlen Specter does NOT open
himself up to reachability
by Veterans trying to advocate
on issues of national interest.
He only has the standard trap
door email which is pointed
exclusively to Pennsylvania
and he has no fax. He previously
did have a fax, but at no time
was I ever able to get through
on it so it was next to not
having a fax.

In this regard, Arlen Specter
gives all the appearances that
he is literally in hiding from
Veterans who may wish to talk
to him.

Arlen Specter for the most part,
does NOT attend Senate hearings
of crucial interest to Veterans
such as the VDBC Commission
review hearings.

A look at his list of Sponsored
legislation shows nearly nothing
at all for new Bills coming
from him on Veterans issues,
short of 1 or 2 involving his
own Pennsylvania VA matters.
However, it can be said that
his Sponsored Bills are very
substantive and intelligent
and there are very few Fluff
Bills which are there for
cosmetic purposes. His original
legislation is packed with
quality and substantial matters
on various subjects such as
Internal Revenue Service, criminal
law issues, and homeland security.
Almost nothing on Veterans however.

His Co-Sponsored Bills, however and
in very sharp contrast to the
Sponsored, are completely loaded
with Fluff Bills, mostly for
cosmetic purposes. Every anniversary
and building naming Bill under
the sun is what he has Co-sponsored.

On his keyword issues page, his
only claim to fame on the Veterans
legislation has to do with advocating
for and supporting the VA budget
increases over the years, and
more recently, the Wounded Warriors
bill which actually came from
Steve Buyer in the House and
Richard Burr in the Senate. So
Specter again shows himself as
a tag-along in this regard.

Senator Arlen Specter is low on
action for Veterans and big on
talk and advertising. He fails
to show any real commitment or
even an interest in Veterans
and his empty legislation track
record shows it. He may actually
be too old and too sick to
continue in this role, and his
district would be ripe for change
if a serious younger candidate
were to come along.

http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=I...SponsoredLegislation