Charles Skelton: “It pains me to talk about the situation in which we find ourselves. Our colleague from New York pointed out a few…”

“It pains me to talk about the situation in which we find ourselves. Our colleague from New York pointed out a few moments ago the underfunding of the defense budget, and I agree; of our overcommitting our troops, and I agree. But that is not the issue before us today. The issue before us today is whether we truly recognize an emergency, as has been so recognized by the White House and has been so recognized by the Senate, or whether this is to be an offset against other items in the budget. The rule before us authorizes us to take up a bill that allows offsets. I think, Mr. Speaker, that is a mistake. This is a matter of process. It is a matter of doing it right. Though 80 percent of the bill's appropriations are for military programs, all of the measures are offsets in the domestic programs. I think there should be no offsets, whether they come from the military or whether they come from the domestic. This is an emergency. We do not plan on hurricanes. We do not plan on tornadoes. We do not plan on floods. We do not plan on those international crises, such as Bosnia and Iraq. And yet, this is not treated as an emergency. This bill rescinds money from the low-income rental housing assistance, from the airport program, from the National Community Service Program, from bilingual education. Should this bill pass in this forum, it is a sure invitation for a presidential veto, an invitation that I am sure will not be refused.”