Joe Barton: “Well, my esteemed colleague from Massachusetts is at least talking about my amendment now. That's progress. He used the…”

“Well, my esteemed colleague from Massachusetts is at least talking about my amendment now. That's progress. He used the term ``black hole.'' I'm sure he knows, since scientists at MIT in his home State have investigated black holes extensively, that there is mounting evidence that the universe could not exist without black holes. So I think it would be appropriate in this bill to put at least one black hole in this because it would enhance the viability of the overall program. Again, we are trying to protect the taxpayers who are putting up the money or the loan officers who are sending the money to the U.S. Treasury in terms of government bonds to pay for this program. We are not attempting to change the loan program. We think the loan program itself is an excellent idea if you're going to have this type of a program. We simply want to protect the taxpayers and also point out, once again, that the underlying bill is a 2-year bill. We don't want a self-perpetuating loan program that would take on the form of an entitlement. So vote for the Barton black hole amendment, and let's put some limitation on taxpayer liability.”