Daniel Hamburg: “as a Representative from northern California whose district suffered some of the ill-effects of the Loma Prieta…”

“as a Representative from northern California whose district suffered some of the ill-effects of the Loma Prieta earthquake, I have tremendous concern, tremendous sympathy for the people in Northridge and the surrounding area for what they have gone through. I am fully in support of this emergency supplemental. But I want to stand with the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank], and I want to stand with the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Burton] and say that these expenditures, this additional $1.2 billion on top of a defense budget that is already $265 billion, that these issues need to be discussed in the proper forum. They should not be tacked on to this supplemental. When I was running for Congress, one of the issues that came up most often with my constituents is, why do these bills go through Congress where they start with one subject and pretty soon they are on to this and this and this. That is Christmas treeing. This is Christmas treeing of a bill that is extremely important. I believe we diminish the suffering of those people in southern California, who are living on the ground, living in tents, needing immediate attention from this Congress and this administration, when we add to it things that really are extraneous to the purpose of the bill.”