On the recordJune 10, 2016
Madam Chair, while I can appreciate the gentleman's concerns, he has listed a number of substantive differences of opinion with the way the Office of Congressional Ethics handles their work. This appropriations bill is not the appropriate place to address those. The Office of Congressional Ethics was created through legislation. It is a substantive issue, and it is one that should be debated and discussed on an authorizing bill, not on the funding of the legislative branch. You don't just cut the budget of an office with whose decisions you disagree. We can debate and discuss these concerns, but cutting $190,000 out of the OCE's budget is not the way to address that. For those reasons and the fact that the public already has some pretty significant concerns with the way we do business here, this would send the wrong message. If we are going to have this discussion, we should do it in a forum that allows for more robust discussion and debate over how to address those challenges long term. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1145
