Political Quotes

“I congratulate the committee and Members on both sides of the aisle for the excellent work that they have done. Especially congratulations to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Lazio] on a bill that really is reflective of our broader Republican agenda. The gentlewoman from California who spoke before me referred to this as another radical part of our agenda. What the gentlewoman refers to as 'radical' most people in America would look at and say, 'Now this is common sense,' because what we are trying to do is to move this power out of Washington, back to States and local communities, to make decisions for the people who live in their communities that can best help the people in their communities. One provision that will be in the manager's amendment that I am especially pleased with refers to title V of the McKinney Act that currently sets up a three-agency review process for processing applications by homeless groups for Federal surplus land. The process can take years and really does not reflect any local concerns. Even if there is a local homeless or low-income housing group that would like some of the land and the local community wants to give it to them, they cannot under existing law. The Federal Government decides here in Washington. This provision in the amendment cuts through all of this redtape.”