Tom Coburn: “Washington, D.C. saves between $4,000 and $9,000 per participant; Bartow, Florida, saves $531,000; Gainesville…”

“Washington, D.C. saves between $4,000 and $9,000 per participant; Bartow, Florida, saves $531,000; Gainesville, $200,000; Kalamazoo, Michigan, $300,000; Klamath Falls, Oregon, $86,000; Beaumont, Texas, saves half a million dollars annually because of drug courts. This is not about cutting the EDA. It is about limiting its growth and prioritizing our resources into something that makes a difference in the lives of people. Mr. Chairman, I include for the Record the letter from Mr. Swindle. The letter referred to is as follows: August 3, 1998. Representative Tom Colburn, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Representative Coburn: As President Reagan's Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development from 1985-1989, I strongly support your amendment to the FY 1999 Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Bill that will cut $25 million from the Economic Development Administration (EDA). EDA is one of those examples of a dedicated group of federal employees being trapped in a bad system and being manipulated by political decision-making, which too often has ignored the legal basis and criteria for the agency's existence and operation.”