Barney Frank: “first of all, I am suffering a little disorientation because I didn't get the anti-immigration amendment. So I hope the…”

“first of all, I am suffering a little disorientation because I didn't get the anti-immigration amendment. So I hope the gentleman from Georgia isn't ill and was not, therefore, able to present it. On this amendment, I congratulate the minority. They make a reasonable point. Yes, I think that we should have included the veterans. To that extent, I think this is worth supporting. I do not understand why this has to come at the expense of people who had committed an offense and have come out. I had thought there was these days some sense that rehabilitation was a goal. As the gentlewoman from California will explain, we are talking about a very narrow category of ex-offenders. We certainly don't believe that when you come out of prison, you ought to then become homeless if you have otherwise satisfied society's reasonable demands. But I do not oppose this because, I agree, we should be including the veterans. I will say this. What this does is two things: it says include the veterans, but then excludes people who have been sentenced, served a term, et cetera, and have shown that they met all these conditions. We will be going forward with this bill with the Senate, and there is no need to put these two issues against each other. So I believe that we can accept this with full support then for the veterans, but then not have the other issue foreclosed.”