Jeff Flake: “Again, I think something has been lost in translation here. I have no idea what this amendment has to do with Enron.…”

“Again, I think something has been lost in translation here. I have no idea what this amendment has to do with Enron. This amendment is simply saying that the Federal Government need not spend money on this program. This Rhode Island College is a State university, it's my understanding. If the taxpayers in Rhode Island want to decide through their State representatives that it should receive more funding, then by all means it should. My question is why are we coming here to the Federal Government with all the choices out there. The university that I went to, private university, teaches dozens and dozens of languages. I am sure they would like more funding, but it wouldn't be my place to come in and say, all right, let's have a big earmark for the Afrikaans program or the Chinese program or something else. I just don't think that would be proper. We can't do that. Last time I checked, we are running a deficit here, and we have a big debt. To try to fund all of these programs simply is not prudent. It has nothing to do with Enron. It has nothing to do with misplaced priorities elsewhere. It has to do with whether or not the Federal Government should in this case fund an earmark that is circumventing the regular process of authorization and appropriation. There are programs out there through the Department of Education that award grants to universities that have language programs. This is circumventing that process. Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.”