Melvin Watt: “let me speak for a minute or two about what this debate and this bill is not about, and then talk a little bit about…”

“let me speak for a minute or two about what this debate and this bill is not about, and then talk a little bit about what it is about. Mr. Chairman, we have heard in this debate that this is about whether the local government has control of this situation or whether the Federal Government has control of the funds. I think the debate that we will engage in shortly, Mr. Chairman, as we try to amend this bill, is about what will be effective in the crime-fighting context. If we really think about it, Mr. Chairman, I have never seen any local government official or State government official who would refuse funding from the Federal Government, whether it has some strings attached to it or whether it has no strings attached to it. If we ask a local government official 'Would you rather have money that does not give you any guidance about how to use it,' they will say 'Give me the money.' If we ask that same local government official 'Would you take some money that gives you some guidance about how to use it,' they will say 'Give us the money. We need the money because we have a crime-fighting problem.' Therefore, the real issue here is not about whether we give the money to the local government, with some constraints or guidance, or no constraints and guidance. It is about having some mechanism for accountability.”