Bill Barrett: “I rise in opposition to the committee funding resolution. Funding resolutions used to be worked out with compromise and…”

“I rise in opposition to the committee funding resolution. Funding resolutions used to be worked out with compromise and trust. However, these two qualities have deteriorated more and more with the passage of time. After 3 years on this committee, my frustration with the committee grows. The partisan gamesmanship that pervades the committee has created an atmosphere of inefficient government. Our constituents deserve better. When Republicans drafted their proposal for committee funding they did so with the intent of meeting several goals. First, we wanted to remain committed to providing adequate investigative funding, while also substantially reducing the spending by the committees. Second, we wanted to meet the House's overall target of a 4-percent reduction in staff positions by fiscal year 1995. This goal would have been much easier to achieve with the Republican alternative than with House Resolution 369, because the funding reductions in this resolution are not serious enough to mandate any further staff reductions. Third, Republicans had requested funding amounts for the committees to reflect a fair allocation for the minority, by allocating one-third of committee funds to the minority party. In the end, as is the case most of the time with this committee, the decisions were made along party lines.”