Lincoln Chafee: “I explain to the Senate this amendment was made necessary to correct certain provisions that are in technical violation…”

“I explain to the Senate this amendment was made necessary to correct certain provisions that are in technical violation of the Budget Act. The bill reported by the committee stays within the overall spending limitations imposed by the budget resolution, but not every dollar is in the right category. We have made adjustments in this substitute amendment that correct those deficiencies. The adjustments do not affect the allocation of the dollars to any State nor the certainty that those dollars will be delivered by the formula in the bill. The amendment does not affect the substantive provisions of the bill in any other respect, but puts some of the spending authorized by the bill under the obligation limitation to ensure that we meet the technical requirements of the Budget Act. It is my understanding the committee has a right to modify its amendments in this way. I polled the committee yesterday, and a majority of the members agreed to this modification. The substitute amendment now is the only committee amendment and is open to amendment by any Senator and will be the vehicle for conducting debate on this bill.”