Political Quotes

“CBO estimated that both versions, the House-passed last year and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, quite similar to S. 2 before us now, would cost about $1 million for the first 2 years in effect as the office gears up and $4 to $5 million in the third, fourth, and fifth years. Much of the cost expected in fiscal years 1997 and 1998 is the cost of working out collective bargaining agreements. So once the cost of that is taken care of, the overall pricetag should dip back down by the beginning of the second 5-year budgetary cycle. When you look at the total cost figures, I think you also have to realize that the Senate and House offices of the existing Fair Employment Practices Office, which would be supplanted, would be replaced by the independent Office of Compliance created by this bill, will cost almost $1.2 million in this fiscal year, so that the marginal cost of the bills considered here is even less. Mr. President, there was some indication on the floor yesterday that the Senate Rules Committee has found the administrative hearing system created for the Senate by the Government Employees Rights Act to be extremely expensive and that this bill would further increase that expense.”