David Thomas: “I have to admit I am genuinely confused. It is indeed a rare occasion when I come to the floor and I find out that not…”

“I have to admit I am genuinely confused. It is indeed a rare occasion when I come to the floor and I find out that not only is my friend from Massachusetts saying good things about me in terms of the way I run a committee and the way we split funds, but I read the minority views from my friend from Connecticut, signed by all the members of the committee, about how fair I am and the fact that the distribution of the funds was reasonable. And my colleagues really ought to read it, it is almost embarrassing how flattering they are about the way I run the committee, and then they immediately turn around and talk about this slush fund and they are worried about the slush fund and what is going to happen with it. I am the same person who is chairman of the committee who is going to control the reserve fund. The reserve fund is just exactly that, reserve. Now, these folks ought to know what a slush fund is. In the 103d Congress they had $223 million to slush around. And what my colleagues need to know is that out of that $223 million, more than half was spent outside public scrutiny. More than $112 million was spent in the shadows, in closed door rooms. What we did in the 104th Congress was put it all together, let sunshine in, and what you see is what you get. What we are asking for for this Congress is $45 million less than they spent. Now, how about a slush fund for $45 million. Where was it? Soaked away in the committees.”