Chaka Fattah

Mr. FATTAH

Mr. FATTAH. Reclaiming my time, in spirit, I support this. I don't know what the unintended consequences are. So I would be prepared to accept it, as long as we can dig into it and make sure there are no unintended circumstances. I know this is a very parochial matter. I think you should be able to take your kid out fishing. I don't think that profit is the only motivator in the world. I don't know why it would be so arbitrary a cut line. At this point I would like to work with the chairman on this. I would be prepared to accept it at this time. If we find some major problem with it, we will jump up and down about it then.

Mr. FATTAH. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. FATTAH. My wife is a fly fisher. We are not doing red snapper. But I understand the spirit of it, and we will take it at that, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. FATTAH. I just wanted to indicate that on behalf of the minority, we support your amendment and are prepared to agree to it.

Mr. FATTAH. I wanted to say that I concur completely with the chairman, and I am opposed to the amendment.

Mr. FATTAH. Madam Chair, I would like to thank the ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce for raising this important issue. I assure him that it is my intention that we will be working between here and the final bill to improve upon this area in the bill. I thank the chairman for all of his work in this regard. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. I want to thank the gentlewoman for her steadfastness and her focus on this matter and pledge to her that I am going to work with the chairman as we go forward to see that we get this incorporated in the final product of our bill.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition.

Mr. FATTAH

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), a fellow appropriator.

Mr. FATTAH. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Texas (Mr. Cuellar), a fellow appropriator.

Mr. FATTAH. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), who has led the Democratic effort in terms of science, and I particularly thank her for her leadership on NASA.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), a gentleman who, in this House, has spent a great deal of time providing leadership in terms of small businesses and connecting them up with our research institution.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I have one remaining speaker, so I reserve the balance of my time to close.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. We are going to move into a process of amendments in which the House will work its will, but I think the general debate has illuminated a host of areas where we agree and a few areas where we disagree. The last speaker, my good friend from Texas, Lamar Smith, who has done a lot of work, as he mentioned, there are some areas where we remain in disagreement, which is the notion that we should make some of these changes in terms of science prioritization are issues that not just are there disagreements between the parties, but there is vast concern in the scientific enterprise in the Nation, that we would interject perhaps a viewpoint into science that would move away from merit-based processes. On that point, I look forward to the amendment process, and I thank the House for listening to our points of view. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not in opposition.

Mr. FATTAH. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. FATTAH. I obviously would work with the chairman on this and a whole range of other items. The offsets that you have identified would be very problematic, from my point of view. But I will work with the chairman. We need to make sure we fully fund the U.S. Marshals Service.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, on that, I want to say something, and then I will yield to my colleague. I led the effort in my home State to create drug courts when I was in the State senate before any of my gray hairs. They have worked out spectacularly well in many places throughout the country. So I support the gentleman from New Hampshire's amendment. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch).

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I gladly yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson), my chairman, if he has any more to add on this matter before I yield to my colleague over here.

Mr. FATTAH. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, let me say in conclusion that I join with the chairman. I support this amendment. I support the COPS program. For 20 years, the Federal Government has been engaged in this, launched under President Clinton, which has reduced crime in our country, has saved lives, has made communities safer. And even though there is some disagreement about the authorization, there is no disagreement, I don't believe, that we should be providing resources. I think the gentleman articulated on the front end of this discussion how intertwined local police are with our Federal law enforcement efforts and how critically indispensable they are in these efforts.

Mr. FATTAH. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.