Roy Blunt: “I keep asking myself as I hear this debate, as I have looked at this issue over the last several months, why are we…”

“I keep asking myself as I hear this debate, as I have looked at this issue over the last several months, why are we spending this money? Why did the administration agree to this study? Why did the Congress appropriate the money? Why are we spending the money? We are spending the money because the one weekend study that NAS has already done is not adequate. We are spending the money because there is a tremendous lack of clarity and agreement on these issues. In fact, if Members read the draft standard, I think it is clear why we are spending the money. The draft standard is not clear. The draft standard is ambiguous. The reviews on the draft standard, from the SBREFA panel, the Small Business Review Panel, to all kinds of journals that have reviewed this, have talked about the problems the draft standard would create. We need to be sure, when we talk about people's jobs, that we are talking about specific and certain facts.”