Frank Wolf

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the amendment. There are other priorities within the Bureau of Prisons, including bringing online two other recently constructed facilities and maintaining sufficient staffing levels at existing facilities to ensure safety. I am also concerned--and I think what the problem is, if I could just maybe speak to the gentlelady from Illinois. I think if the administration were saying that there will never be any Guantanamo detainees transferred, but the problem is we see the veto threat on the DOD bill. No one is trying to hurt your community, and I commend you for fighting for it; but every time you begin to kind of say, okay, we will go that way, you then begin to see the veto threats. The administration has not set a veto threat to this bill but has expressed concern with regard to our Guantanamo Bay language. And my sense is, if honestly, ethically, morally we were all convinced no Guantanamo Bay transfers--and, quite frankly, I don't think you want Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to come to your local community either. So I think you would probably agree with me as much as anything. But if there was convincing evidence that they were never going to be brought there, then I wouldn't have any problem. But I think the gentlelady from Tennessee raises a very, very good, good point. And every time you come back to that, it always comes back to, we are going to veto that. So I think it is a good amendment. I guess the challenge would be: How could we remove this so that this does not become a problem? Eventually, I can understand. I think you make a legitimate case. But the hurdle is Members up here on both sides of the aisle believe that the administration ultimately will take people from Guantanamo to Thomson, and that becomes a problem. If you could remove that risk whereby nobody will ever come back to it, then I think this problem would go away. Until that time, I think it is going to be a battle constantly, constantly, constantly. And I know that Senator Durbin has made a strong effort, but there are some of us on this side who believe that it becomes a big political issue, too. So if you can somehow make it whereby there is some convincing and not run the risk of, in 2 or 3 years from now, say, ``Ah-hah, we have got you; we are going to take them there,'' then I think this problem would probably go away. But until that time, I support the gentlelady's amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WOLF. It boils down to the issue of trust. I was specifically told by the Justice Department that the Uighurs from Guantanamo Bay would not be released. We had a meeting in my office. The White House was there. They were all there. They said they will not be released. We got a call from somebody in the administration who called us to say that the helicopters are getting ready and leaving Guantanamo. And, by the way, they have leased an apartment at Seven Corners. These were three people who had been picked up at Tora Bora in a camp. I understand. I mean, if we could work this thing out, I would be happy. So when you see the veto message, as the gentlelady from Tennessee said, the concern is that they will just blink and come and go. But they looked me directly in the eye and said: We will not release these inmates. And then had I not gotten that telephone call--and, quite frankly, I think this person who stopped them from being released was the current mayor of Chicago, to his credit. And so that is the concern we have. There needs to be a basic trust that if somebody says something, there is absolutely no question that that is the word and it will never happen. But I thank the gentleman for his comments.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. WOLF. The amendment seeks to fix a problem that does not exist. There is no restriction on use and transfer of domestically produced or traded industrial hemp products or seed. They never sought a license. They have every right to do this had they got a license. And the DEA had a responsibility, as the Customs and Border Patrol does, to ensure that imports are legal and safe, including the imports of agriculture products. The responsibility falls to those who seek to import these products to secure necessary import licenses in a timely way to ensure Federal law enforcement can do its job and confirm that the commodity imported is legal. There is no reason to restrict the exercise of this important law enforcement mission. So they never sought a license, and that is what the problem was. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. WOLF. I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. I accept the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. WOLF. I yield myself 1 minute. The following national medical organizations are currently opposed to medical marijuana: American Medical Association, American Cancer Society, American Glaucoma Society, Glaucoma Research Foundation, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and American Psychiatric Association. Also, recent research has demonstrated that marijuana use during teen years decreases IQ rates by an average of eight points. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris).

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chair, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Louisiana, Dr. Fleming.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words, and I yield to the gentleman from Maryland, Dr. Harris.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Louisiana (Dr. Fleming).

Mr. WOLF. I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I am concerned what this means for the Bureau of Prisons. I am inclined to maybe take the amendment. I think that is one of the concerns, somebody comes in without knowing.

Mr. WOLF. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. WOLF. Well, we may be, and I think that is probably not a bad idea. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte), the chairman of the full Judiciary Committee.

Mr. WOLF. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I am going to rise in opposition to the amendment. There are just so many questions. I think Chairman Goodlatte raises them. We are open to work with you as we go through it. It is quarter after 9. Nobody is there at the Bureau of Prisons. We are not going to get a constructive answer, and we don't want to do something that causes damage. One, I am going to oppose the amendment. Mr. Goodlatte was so convincing. And secondly, we will be willing to work with you though to see. Because I understand what you are trying to do, and I am sort of sympathetic to it. But for now with the way it is drafted I will oppose the amendment and ask for a ``no'' vote. I yield back the balance of my time.