Alan B. Mollohan: “The committee this year has increased funding for this program by $2.1 million over 2007, which in part was an effort to…”

“The committee this year has increased funding for this program by $2.1 million over 2007, which in part was an effort to be responsive to the gentleman's consistently expressed concerns about this, and genuine concerns, about this account. If the gentleman has looked at this carefully, we respect his expertise in this area, and we would be interested in visiting with him as we move this to conference and understanding more clearly the justification for an additional increase. And because of who the gentleman is, I have no doubt that his reasons are valid. And so we look forward to working with him to find a better offset and to be responsive to his needs, if at all possible, as we move to and through conference.”