Melvin Watt: “I have been in this body 8 years almost now, and I think I have never seen a bill come to the floor that I thought was a…”

“I have been in this body 8 years almost now, and I think I have never seen a bill come to the floor that I thought was a perfect bill. Sometimes we have 99 percent terrible things in a bill and one good thing that tempts one to vote for it. Sometimes there is 99 percent good in a bill and one very bad provision that tempts one to vote against it. That is the situation we are in in this case, because the overwhelming balance of the argument about this bill is favorable. It is a magnificent bill that will help to stimulate inner city communities, rural communities in need of employment and revitalization. It will bring private funds back into our communities and extend the empowerment zones and provide bonding capacity. And so this is certainly one of those bills where 99 percent of the bill is just a magnificent bill. There is 1 percent of the bill that causes some serious problems. And, unfortunately, they are constitutional problems that the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) has described eloquently in his comments.”