Political Quotes

“I, too, urge adoption of this amendment. I want to commend the chairman, though, while I have a moment, for putting in $22.5 million for pre-disaster mitigation into this bill. He did that at my request. We had a proposal for the President, which was quite inadequate in this respect, and so the chairman has put this money in. This is an amendment that would add more to that, and it is money we can quite well use. {time} 1500 I don't believe the offset is ideal. The offset would slow down the IT initiatives at Customs and Border Protection, which are designed to modernize customs processes and risk-based targeting efforts. I don't necessarily think it's the best process for us on the House floor to be establishing carveouts in the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program. We need an all-hazards approach. We don't necessarily want to rank the threat of fire higher than the threat of hurricanes and so forth. Having said that, though, I think this bipartisan pair of cosponsors has made a very compelling case today for the threat that their areas face, and I urge my colleagues to support them. I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton). The amendment was agreed to. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will read.…”