Kendrick Meek: “Mr. Chairman, I am a member of the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government of the Committee on…”

“Mr. Chairman, I am a member of the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government of the Committee on Appropriations, and this did come before our subcommittee and we discussed it at length. I would like to say to my colleagues, and to my colleague who has this amendment here, we are aware of these allegations of improper activities surrounding the first round of CDFI awards and, coincidentally, one aspect of this allocation was highlighted in today's Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal. While the appearance of these articles today as we debate this amendment gives the impression of breaking news, I say to my colleagues this is not breaking news and this investigation is not news to our subcommittee. The allegations against the CDFI program were discussed throughout our hearing process. An appropriate investigation has begun and is being undertaken by the IG and the Treasury Department. So the committee's position is fully discussed in the House report, and we insisted that appropriate changes, safeguards and improvements are made to ensure that every penny that we are appropriating from this subcommittee reaches the budding entrepreneurs and underserved communities for which it is intended.”