Fred Heineman: “I have been in committee, the Committee on the Judiciary, with my colleagues here, and I have come to respect the…”

“I have been in committee, the Committee on the Judiciary, with my colleagues here, and I have come to respect the gentlewoman from Texas [Ms. Jackson-Lee] and her positions on law enforcement. I think what we are talking about here is we are talking about just what I mentioned last night, a philosophical difference of where we want to go, whether we want to dictate to local law enforcement and the States as to how much money should be spent and where it should go. We on this side of the aisle seek flexibility at the local level in that regard. And I say that there is nobody in this Congress--not even myself, who has been a police chief for 15 years; in fact last year at this time I was in that position--that know better how to use money at the local level. I can say I knew for years exactly how to use grant money at the local level, because I was there. I cannot tell you now that I know better than the police chief of Raleigh, NC, at this point how best to use that money under a block grant. They know. One size does not fit all, I can tell you that.”