John Culberson: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. If I could also point out, actually, the ATF did the right thing here. I strenuously…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. If I could also point out, actually, the ATF did the right thing here. I strenuously disagreed with the ammo ban and had a chance to meet with the head of the ATF, as I was the new chairman of the CJS Subcommittee, and walked him through the problems he was going to face on this House floor with amendments and problems with their budget and their spending plan this year. He is a patriot, former marine, and a lifelong law enforcement officer. He understood they had kind of gone beyond the bounds of the statute, so he agreed to drop the ban on .223 ammunition after I had a very good heart-to-heart meeting with him, and so ATF did the right thing. I think we should encourage good behavior. I want to recognize and I want to thank the new head of the ATF for doing the right thing and not going after law-abiding Americans' constitutional right to possess and use perfectly lawful .223 ammunition and focus on enforcing the statute, which is designed to protect police officers from armor-piercing bullets that can be fired from pistols. ATF did the right thing here, but I think the gentleman has a good amendment. That money is going to a good cause. The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program is a good one. I share my colleague's support for the amendment.…”