Rob Portman: “my colleague and friend the gentleman from California [Mr. Condit] and I are offering this amendment in response to…”

“my colleague and friend the gentleman from California [Mr. Condit] and I are offering this amendment in response to concerns we have heard from Members about the potential adverse impacts this legislation, H.R. 5, could have on the private sector and the competitive balance between the public and private sectors. I should say at the outset it is not my view that H.R. 5 would have such a negative impact. In fact, it strikes me as rather odd that while certain Members of the other party are expressing concerns about the devastation that might befall the private sector, it is representatives of this very sector, the private sector, that have strongly supported H.R. 5 and have worked with us in drafting this bill and are strongly supportive of this clarifying amendment. The list of business groups endorsing H.R. 5 is too lengthy to go through in its entirety, Mr. Chairman, but I will say for the record that we have support from the chamber of commerce, the NFIB, the Small Business Legislative Council and, yes, one of the largest private sector entities involved in this situation which would be BFI, Browning-Ferris. That is quite persuasive to me that the concerns being expressed by the opponents to H.R. 5 are being overdone. These are groups that the opponents of H.R. 5 claim would be negatively affected by its enactment. Yet these groups want this legislation. They want it passed now.…”