Edward M. Kennedy: “just very briefly, it was never our intent to establish in this legislation an unfunded mandate or to require that as a…”

“just very briefly, it was never our intent to establish in this legislation an unfunded mandate or to require that as a result of this legislation, we would be requiring of the States expenditures that the States did not desire. We have been working with legal counsel about how that particular language will reflect that position. I believe Senator Jeffords and myself are in accord with what the Senator from New Hampshire is desirous of, and that is that the Federal Government is not going to mandate to the States additional kinds of funding on the basis of this legislation in which the States themselves are not going to be involved. That is clearly our intention. The Senator's amendment I think captures that. We have agreed to accept this language. We will work very closely with the Senator, obviously, in the conference. But we are strongly committed to that concept and to that principle. If there are better ways we can work that in terms of language, we are open to it. But we have no difference in supporting the Senator's principle. I urge the Senate to accept the amendment as modified.”