James Traficant: “I do not have a Coast Guard mini boat station in my district, and I did not really have a dog in the fight as far as…”

“I do not have a Coast Guard mini boat station in my district, and I did not really have a dog in the fight as far as losing any jobs, if that is the argument being taken, and I supported the efforts the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. DeFazio] and the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone] and others because, quite frankly, I thought they were right. I support this amendment, and I want to commend the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. DeFazio]. The last time the Congress of the United States allowed for closings of small boat stations, the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. DeFazio] lost five lives of his constituency. Now I do not think the amendment is going to pass. I say to the gentleman, 'I am going to support your amendment, but I believe the Congress of the United States today has done something in concert with actions that have been much too often taken in this hall. Congress continues to pass the authority of governance to the White House, and the Congress of the United States in many cases is not being conferred with.'”