Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006
SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - June 15, 2005)
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Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chairman, I am sorry that the debate on this issue is so limited. The gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) was unable to present the evidence that the teen use of marijuana, since the approval by the State of California, has gone down. And I would put this in the RECORD.
This is an opportunity for us to clarify that the 10 States, including my State of Oregon, which was approved by the voters, have the right to make sure that the 10,000 people who are using medical marijuana under the supervision of 1,700 doctors have that right. It is outrageous that the Federal Government would intervene over the rights of States like mine, like Arizona, like California where people are taking these steps. It is a sorry continuation of attempts by this Congress to try to criminalize Oregon's Death with Dignity law, the only State in the Union with end-of-life protection, and the sorry spectacle we had here on the floor where Congress was intervening with the Terry Schiavo family.
I strongly urge the approval of this amendment.
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Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for the time.
I feel a certain irony that we are having this debate today in the aftermath of the final disclosure of the identity of Deep Throat who was part of an effort in the Federal Government to cover up illegal acts at the highest level of American government; and, in fact, Deep Throat was the number two member of the FBI caught up in the internal swirl of politics.
I would suggest that 9/11 was not so much a failure of secret access to our library records and to bookstores; but it was the fact that the FBI did not know how to talk to itself, how to listen to people who actually had information.
We do not need to extend this reach. We have tools available. The problem that we have seen over and over again is that the Federal Government has, in fact, abused the rights of American citizens, including in the FBI.
I would suggest that rather than drag our bookstores and our libraries into this ill-considered issue, that we would be far better off to approve the Sanders amendment, which is a small step towards sanity in this regard.
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