Jack Kingston: “now we peek behind the curtains of the back room of the great CARA brain trust and we find, behind the platitudes of all…”

“now we peek behind the curtains of the back room of the great CARA brain trust and we find, behind the platitudes of all of this fairness and this need for consistency which seems to be driving CARA, we find a special interest exemption for one particular county in California. How curious. How curious that we keep hearing the need for CARA is for consistency, to get away from politics, and yet we find one county outside the 200-mile limitation, cut out a special little special interest, a cherry stem. Let us bring it in. Well, this is one of the problems with CARA. It is a bill, and it is probably full of other sweetheart deals for counties. Yet, under their own CARA rules, if CARA was such a big deal, such a great bill, such a consistent bill, such a fair bill, why would we need to have a special little cherry stem for a county. It does not make sense. If this county deserves special emergency or Federal funds or assistance, then let it come out in the daylight, not in some little amendment. Let them go through the appropriations process, the authorization process. Mr. Chairman, I think that that is just typical of what the whole bill is full of, particular little special interest things. We have had the opportunity to peer behind the curtain and see what is really going on. We keep hearing this bill is so good for the States. Well, California is one of those States with a $3 billion surplus.…”