Jeff Flake: “This is not a laughing matter at all. When the ranking minority member mentions that in the subcommittee we had…”

“This is not a laughing matter at all. When the ranking minority member mentions that in the subcommittee we had discussions about where the authority ought to rest for a study, we simply pointed out that the amendment, as drafted, mentioned the INS Commissioner when, under our own language out of the committee, that position will no longer exist. So that would not be the proper place for the study. What we suggested was that that responsibility would lie with the GAO. As the chairman mentioned, we have offered again and again and again, at the gentleman's suggestion, I say to the ranking minority member, that we draft a letter to the GAO and to ask them to conduct such a study, to do that. I stand ready to do that, and I hope that we can. This is an important issue. We simply need not have it in statute because that would imperil the bill. We cannot, for every law enforcement action taken in this House or in this body, attach racial profiling language. We simply cannot. That would imperil too much good legislation going forward.”