Sherwood Boehlert: “I wish to make four points. This is inside baseball. Point No. 1, in response to the gentlewoman from California, the…”

“I wish to make four points. This is inside baseball. Point No. 1, in response to the gentlewoman from California, the conference was not delayed by inaction on the part of any Republican. As has been accurately reported in National Journal's Congress Daily, the conference was delayed because two Members, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Dingell] and the gentleman from California [Mr. Waxman], objected and refused to sign the conference agreement. Point No. 2, this is very important, the dollars that are claimed to have been lost I am convinced will not be lost, because every Member of this body and the other body wants to make certain that that 24-hour delay does not in any way jeopardize the funding that we need for safe drinking water. Point No. 3, the total amount in dispute is one-quarter of 1 percent of the total amount of money funded in this bill. Point No. 4, the grants program we are talking about is to help needy communities who are striving to provide a cleaner, healthier, safer environment for their constituents by improving their water system. That is what this program is all about. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to give this bill the support it deserves.”