John Spratt: “the rule did not make in order an amendment that I sought with respect to cooperative threat reduction, but it does make…”

“the rule did not make in order an amendment that I sought with respect to cooperative threat reduction, but it does make in order an amendment offered by my good friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), and I am here to offer my support for his amendment, which is included in the en bloc amendment. This amendment is drawn from legislation introduced earlier this year by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, the Nuclear Security Initiative Act, which I was proud to cosponsor. As the gentleman from Pennsylvania said, this bill was in the works for a long time, and I can attest to that. In fact, parts of it come from provisions I introduced in prior years. I commend the chairman of our committee for allowing this to be made in order, including it in the en bloc. I think it is a positive addition to the bill, and I encourage support for the en bloc amendment. The rules governing debate on this defense bill did not make in order an amendment I offered with Rep. Schiff that would have restored the President's request on Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) programs by striking several provisions in the committee bill. Like the Administration, I believe these committee-added provisions will hamstring the program unnecessarily. I was disappointed not to have the chance to debate the amendment, and I plan to work to strike those provisions in conference.”