John Hall: “Mr. Chairman, before I address the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, I just wanted to comment that it is…”

“Mr. Chairman, before I address the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, I just wanted to comment that it is interesting, some might say entertaining, to be given a lesson in fiscal responsibility by those Members who helped to run up the biggest deficit and the biggest balance of trade deficit that this country has ever seen. But we will let that go. For now I would just like to talk about, first of all, the fact that there are no earmarks in this bill. To talk about earmarks on a bill, the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, which has no earmarks is inappropriate and just a distraction. In terms of first responders, the part that I would like to address, it is particularly important to my district, New York's 19th, which served and continues to serve New York City. Orange County in my district is the farthest north that first responders from New York are allowed to live. The firemen and policemen of New York may live only that far north from New York City because of needing to be there when they are called in a hurry. And as a result, we have had many fire and police who lost their lives on 9/11 and many are subsequently suffering from respiratory ailments from working on the Ground Zero pile.”