Sherwood Boehlert: “I rise to reluctantly claim the time in opposition, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, this…”

“I rise to reluctantly claim the time in opposition, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, this might have been a reasonable amendment a couple of years ago, and, guess what? We are used to expecting reasonable amendments from my distinguished colleague from Connecticut. Back then, all of us, including the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) were calling on the administration to bring more focus on the Commerce Department to the problem of manufacturers. Quite frankly, I do not think they were paying enough attention. But guess what? The administration heeded our calls. It created a new Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and took other steps to create a focus on manufacturers in the Department, and it did so in a streamlined way. So I think it is really time to declare victory and go home on this issue. We have won what we were seeking: someone in that Department of Commerce to focus attention on manufacturing. The gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) wanted it, I wanted it, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) wanted it, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) wanted it, we all wanted it, and they listened. It is not too often that the administration listens to the Congress. The legislative branch is sometimes considered politically inconvenient for the executive branch. This time they listened.…”