Melvin Watt: “I have about ceased to come to the floor to debate appropriations bills because, especially at this stage in the…”

“I have about ceased to come to the floor to debate appropriations bills because, especially at this stage in the process, we engage ourselves in a charade because we know this bill and many others are going to be vetoed. Occasionally I pick up a bill and become so disappointed, indeed sometimes so outraged, that I just have to raise my voice. This is one of those occasions, because when we are dealing with Commerce, Justice, and the Judiciary, and matters of state, we do not have the excuse that many of my colleagues on the Republican side have when they are just beating up on poor people or trying to deny giveaways or welfare, or whatever their political or social agenda is. This bill generally is about how we assure people who are trying to do right by the system that we give some presumptions to how we fund their programs and be of assistance to them in meeting their obligations in the democratic process. So when I look at a bill that funds the Legal Services Corporation at a 50 percent cut or 60 percent below what the President of the United States has requested, I say, what are we saying to people?”