Political Quotes

“I share the concern of my committee chairman. What we are doing is selling 48 ships for only $13 million apiece. About 3 years ago in a hearing in the Committee on International Relations, which has original jurisdiction over the sale of surplus ships, there was a move to give away 10 ships, to which I objected, and Senator Brownback from Kansas and I passed legislation, subsequently called the Manzullo amendment. Those 10 ships were then sold for $495 million. Subsequent to that, every year that amendment has come up, and that money is kept back in the coffers in IR towards that bill. But this takes jurisdiction away from the Committee on International Relations. I do not know if this is a bargain sale or not, but I would like some type of assurance from whoever set this price at $637 million that the United States is not giving away billions of dollars worth of ships for which we should be fully compensated.”