Political Quotes

“I rise in my capacity as chair of the Judiciary Committee to say I oppose amendment No. 860. It is a one- size-fits-all approach. It would have catastrophic consequences to the Justice Department and on the important work the Justice Department does in supporting local law enforcement, crime victims, and justice across the country. I have worked with my good friend from Iowa, Senator Grassley, on many issues. We have been able to, in a bipartisan way, develop accountability measures to ensure that particular grants administered by the Department of Justice operate efficiently and effectively. That is particularly important at a time of budget austerity. We have done it in specific contexts when those measures make a lot of sense. For example, in the course of our negotiations of a bipartisan version of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, we worked out specific proposals. Nonetheless, six of the eight Republicans on the Judiciary Committee opposed this bill. But one size does not fit all. Measures that make sense in one program cannot willy-nilly be applied to others without careful consideration of the consequences to the programs and, to the intended beneficiaries in local law enforcement, and crime victims. A one-size-fits-all measure actually might harm rather than help important functions at the Department of Justice. For example, this amendment would prevent grants to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.…”