Department of Defense Appropriations Act

Floor Speech

By:  Chuck Grassley
Date: Dec. 28, 2012
Location: Washington, DC


Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, amendment No. 3348 is about smart government. It is about ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, while at the same time guaranteeing that Federal law enforcement agencies that face challenges following Hurricane Sandy have the resources they need to get the job done.

Instead of simply providing funding, my amendment requires that within 7 days, the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security identify and relocate vehicles based at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of DOJ and DHS that are used for non-operational purposes.

The vehicles identified will then be used to replace those damaged by Hurricane Sandy that are used by the FBI, DEA, ATF, ICE, and Secret Service.

This is a good government amendment and one that actually achieves the goal of replacing operational vehicles used by Federal law enforcement faster than the underlying bill.

If this is an emergency, as we have been told, these agencies can spare some of the hundreds of vehicles they have sitting at their headquarters that they currently have for non-operational purposes.

I urge my colleagues to support my commonsense, good government amendment.

If there is no further debate, the question is on agreeing to the amendments en bloc.