On the recordMarch 7, 2017
I thank the chairman for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise with the greatest respect for my colleague from the District of Columbia and her passion on this subject and the bill that she has introduced. I rise with equal respect for my colleague, Chairman Barletta, and the way in which he has walked this bill through the process, but I am going to oppose this bill. I am going to do so on the basis of process. I thought it important to explain why, given, I think, the amount of energy that has gone into the bill and the fact that I wasn't able to voice a vote against it when it was voice voted at the committee level. I do so because I think that blank checks rarely work out well for the taxpayer. In fairness to the bill, it is not a blank check. The bill is actually prescribed in three different ways--the way in which it will impact Federal buildings. My problem, though, is on methodology in that the General Services Administration that ultimately gave the numbers to the CBO on which they base their score did not get in final form how many Federal buildings we are talking about. I think that leaves, therefore, something of an open end as to what this bill will ultimately cost; and that then goes to impact the very children for whom the breastfeeding will take place. {time} 1800 A child born in America today is going to inherit a giant liability from the Federal Government in terms of the cost of our Federal Government.…
