Bill Delahunt: “I guess I want to pick up on that theme of responsibility. We are going to hear, I am sure, much about responsibility…”

“I guess I want to pick up on that theme of responsibility. We are going to hear, I am sure, much about responsibility today, personal responsibility. But I also wanted to pick up on an observation made by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) in terms of congressional responsibility. There is no doubt that this particular proposal has rushed through the legislative process, unlike any proposal in my limited experience. I dare say, as I talk to colleagues throughout and listen to the statements that have been made, there have been fewer hearings on this. The rush to bring this proposal to the floor was such that it is interesting to read the committee report in terms of the cost estimate. I want to take the time to read it. This is the majority report. 'The estimate of the Congressional Budget Office was not available at the time of this report. The committee believes that the enactment of H.R. 3150 will not have a substantial budget effect for the fiscal year 1999 and subsequent years.' Well, guess what? They were wrong. They were wrong to the tune of $300 million over the course of the next 5 years. That is 300 million taxpayer dollars.”