Marcy Kaptur: “First of all, I want to thank Congressman Hastings for working with us and obviously participating in these debates for…”

“First of all, I want to thank Congressman Hastings for working with us and obviously participating in these debates for the entire day today. He is such an able and well- intentioned Member. His brilliance continues to inspire all of us on many issues, including this one. I wanted to just say that I agree with the gentleman's intent in offering this amendment. And as I've said many times today, the allocation we were given as a subcommittee is simply insufficient to meet all of the needs that the Nation has certainly in this area of science. The gentleman is correct that there is a $223 million--which is not insignificant--reduction from 2013 levels. So as we look to the future, there is less emphasis on science. I agree with the gentleman's intent. I wish we could restore all those dollars this evening. I would also say that there's a constraint on us because we know that the President very much wants to engage in nuclear weapons reduction talks with other nations around the world, and I think it is important that he be able to negotiate from a position of strength. That is one of the reasons that the chairman and I are working so very hard to allow him to achieve the ultimate objective of nuclear arms reduction. So to take dollars from those accounts at this level really does create a bit of a pressure for us that would cause me to oppose the gentleman's amendment at this time.…”