Joe Cunningham: “Mr. Chairman, I believe that Members on the other side of the aisle do have some legitimate issues. One of the issues…”

“Mr. Chairman, I believe that Members on the other side of the aisle do have some legitimate issues. One of the issues, in my opinion, is that while we attempt to move this money back to the States that I know an example in the State of California, the devastating defense cuts have cost us nearly a million jobs. We have little things called gnat catchers and spotted owls that have affected those positions. We have had natural disasters, and the people in the State of California, on a State level and a Federal level, are taxed at pretty much an extreme rate. It is very difficult to pass a school bond to build a school or to provide for that instruction. When we affect education, we also affect, because it is forward-funded, not only the funds in the future but the funds that go down right now. We have to provide a transition for those. This particular amendment helps that. It also sets the stage for a direction where we can reallocate and put a little different priority and put some of those dollars back into education.”