Sean Patrick Maloney: “the President called for a smaller, leaner, smarter government. I think we all agree. So today I am introducing a bill…”

“the President called for a smaller, leaner, smarter government. I think we all agree. So today I am introducing a bill to eliminate the dumbest program in the entire Federal Government, the Civilian Marksmanship Program. This piece of petrified pork was put in the budget in 1903 during the Spanish-American War, Mr. Speaker, to teach Americans how to shoot straight. Ninety years later high-tech weapons have replaced rifles. It is time to declare victory and delete this wasteful program. While we are fighting very hard to get guns off the street, Mr. Speaker, this program hands out 40 million rounds of free ammunition, sells surplus guns, and conducts an annual shooting match. We have too much debt and too many needs to subsidize recreational shooting. This program is nothing more than a special interest boondoggle. Any Member who has ever campaigned against special interest politics should be embarrassed to vote for it.”