John Rutherford: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, the CDBG program is one of the few opportunities that the Federal…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, the CDBG program is one of the few opportunities that the Federal Government has where we actually take taxpayer dollars and send them back to the State and local governments to use the way they see fit. That is the reason I rise in opposition to this amendment. This will cut $13 million just from the State of Florida and a little over $4 million just from my district alone. Madam Chair, having been in local government as a sheriff for 12 years, I can say that CDBG was a tremendous opportunity to help public safety in the way that our community needed assistance. It wasn't a mandate down from bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. It was an opportunity to take tax dollars, return them to the taxpayer, and allow their elected representatives to decide how best to use that money. For that reason, I am opposed to the gentleman's amendment, and I ask all my colleagues to vote ``no.''”