James M. Jeffords: “I honestly hope this is the last time that we are called upon to debate the D.C. appropriations conference report. It is…”

“I honestly hope this is the last time that we are called upon to debate the D.C. appropriations conference report. It is time to get beyond our differences and come to agreement. This conference agreement represents the best consensus that can now be achieved. To those who believe that by delaying or defeating this conference report they can somehow ensure a better deal, I can tell you that this is highly unlikely. I do not know what the House reaction is going to be, but I do know that we negotiated long and hard on this conference report which essentially gave total local control on the question of vouchers and, to my mind, brought it out of the specter of being a national test on your feelings on this issue. Mr. President, the Federal Government still owes the District government more than $254 million, of which $219 million is the remaining portion of the Federal payment. There are real human consequences to this delay. District vendors are carrying the city's debt. The city owes more than $300 million to its vendors. Partially as a result of not receiving the Federal payment, the city has taken steps to conserve cash including delaying payments to vendors. Many of these individuals are small businessmen who depend upon prompt payment to meet their own payroll and business expenses. When one of their customers is late, it causes a hardship. Some have gone out of business.”