Harold Volkmer: “No. We cannot get it. Under this bill, I get some money. It is going to help my State. And maybe under that, maybe…”

“No. We cannot get it. Under this bill, I get some money. It is going to help my State. And maybe under that, maybe Missouri's higher education will be able to get a little more of the budget because they will get a little bit of their money back from the Federal Government that they send here anyway. That is what the Schumer amendment does. I strongly support it. If Members really believe in States rights, if they really believe in building prisons and letting the legislature decide, I hope they have as good sense as the State of Missouri and a few other States that have truth-in-sentencing, because I believe in truth-in-sentencing. But I do not believe that I should dictate it to anybody, especially a State legislative body. I believe that that State legislative body and that Governor should be able to decide on its own what is good for their own State. I do not believe that I should make that decision for them. I do not believe that I have all the answers, that I am smarter than they are. That is what the bill says. You are smarter than the State legislative bodies and governors. I object to it. I feel strongly, I urge everybody to support the amendment of the gentleman from New York.”