Dale Kildee: “it is really with a very heavy heart that I rise to oppose this amendment, both because of my great respect for Governor…”

“it is really with a very heavy heart that I rise to oppose this amendment, both because of my great respect for Governor Romero-Barcelo, and my great feelings for Puerto Rico. I look forward to working with him to achieve his goal to have statehood for Puerto Rico, and I know he supports that very strongly. I believe that that would be the best solution to the problems existing in Puerto Rico with regard to this program. With statehood, of course, they would pay a Federal income tax and have full voting rights. So I would say to the gentleman from Puerto Rico, Mr. Romero-Barcelo, he could then not only speak here on the floor, but he could vote on final passage of bills. In the meantime, while seeking that full representation and full rights of citizens to the people of Puerto Rico, I will pledge myself to work with the Governor to try to get a bigger pie for title I, so that the piece that Puerto Rico gets will be bigger. I also do not preclude the possibility of working with him in the coming years before the reauthorization of this bill to see whether we can find a better way to treat more justly the children of Puerto Rico. That is why it is with a heavy heart that I oppose this amendment. I do not oppose the Governor, but I have a reality that I have to recognize exists here. I will work with the gentleman to get more money and work to see whether we can find a better formula before we reauthorize this bill again.”