David Obey: “I don't really enjoy opposing this amendment because I think this is a good program that the gentleman seeks to expand.…”

“I don't really enjoy opposing this amendment because I think this is a good program that the gentleman seeks to expand. But let me put his amendment in context. The President of the United States tried to eliminate this program in his budget. The committee has provided $99 million for it, and for that the administration is criticizing us. I would also point out that in the last year, when the other party controlled the House of Representatives, the committee cut Even Start by $29 million. We've done none of that. We've restored the funding, and I have a great deal of confidence in the program. But I cannot support the idea of adding the additional money the gentleman proposes because he takes it from a very damaging place. Now, I know that there is no political constituency for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. No one is going to get excited if they hear that we are cutting back funding for that agency. But, in fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which produces the Consumer Price Index, puts together the numbers that determine the way hundreds of billions of dollars flow in this budget and flow in this economy. We are operating on the basis of an ancient Consumer Price Index. The housing component of that index, which makes up almost 30 percent of it, is some 17 years out of date, and we know there's been a lot of change in housing stock over the last 17 years.”