Marcy Kaptur: “Mr. Chairman, I intend to withdraw the amendment after a brief discussion due to an understanding with the gentleman…”

“Mr. Chairman, I intend to withdraw the amendment after a brief discussion due to an understanding with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla) to look for funds for the celebration of the centennial anniversary of National 4-H as we move toward conference. Also, I do this out of respect for the National 4-H leadership that has committed not to have those funds come at the expense of existing extension programs which are already stretched. Our amendment would provide funding pursuant to an authorization that was approved by the House 2 weeks ago when we voted for S. 657, the National 4-H Program Centennial Initiative. The centennial will occur next year, but planning obviously needs to begin immediately. In fact, the President signed the relevant legislation yesterday. That measure was a companion bill to H.R. 1388, introduced by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske). That measure authorized $5 million for the National 4-H Council, with the expectation that those funds would be matched by private contributions, and it also assumed the Secretary could use the Fund for Rural America to finance some of the operations. However, there is money for neither of these options in the bill. Now, I think every American has been touched in some way by 4-H. It operates in over 3,000 counties in each of our States and provides truly constructive opportunities to young men and women in both rural and urban areas.”