Political Quotes

“I have both procedural and substantive problems with this resolution. First, this resolution was circulated among committee members only last Wednesday evening. The International Relations Committee held a mark-up less than 24 hours later to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere never had a chance to consider the resolution. Second, committee rules require a week's notice before mark-up legislation. In this instance we got only a few hours notice. Only in unusual circumstances are such procedures allowable under the rules and then only after consultation with the ranking minority member. No such consultation took place. Mr. Speaker, I cannot understand why we must ram this resolution through the House. It's not as though the helicopters called for by the bill will get there any more quickly. They're not even built yet. With regard to the resolution itself, Members should be aware that, as the resolution implies, this is not about just 3 Blackhawks. This about many more. Three is nowhere near enough for the Colombian National Police to have an effective capability. In fact, to be effective, they need more like 12. The 3 Blackhawks in last year's foreign operations bill cost $36 million. That means that Congress will be on the hook for $144 million, not $36 million. And that's without even considering the outyear costs for additional training and maintenance.”