James Oberstar: “Mr. Chairman, I do so for the purpose of responding to the chairman's question where these funds are going to come from…”

“Mr. Chairman, I do so for the purpose of responding to the chairman's question where these funds are going to come from, and the implication that the point of order made by the gentleman from Illinois struck the money. In fact, the point of order struck the source of the funding. It did not strike the $466.5 million in this legislation. When the Congress appropriated $40 billion in the immediate aftermath of September 11, $20 billion was clearly understood to go to New York for its needs and another $20 billion to respond to other needs of the economy. And it was made very clear at that time when the Secretary of Transportation announced that sky marshals would be assigned to domestic flights that the funding for those sky marshals would come out of that $20 billion. That is the basis on which we have proceeded. That in this interim period of time until the surcharge on airline tickets provided for in the aviation security bill is put into effect and the money is raised, that the emergency appropriation of $20 billion in part would cover the cost of the sky marshals. Mr. Chairman, does the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee have a different understanding?”