Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2007
TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE JUDICIARY, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007
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Mr. WICKER. Mr. Chairman, perhaps at the end of that 2 minutes, I might ask the Chair's indulgence for a little more time.
I do appreciate the chairman's opposing the amendment, and I think it is instructive at this point to talk about the congressional spending procedures that we have in place. We receive the President's budget, and the Congress then acts on that budget by the adoption of a resolution. We decide at that point the level of discretionary spending this Congress will spend on a variety of issues. It is at that point, at the point of the budget resolution, that we decide how much we will spend on domestic discretionary dollars. In other words, upon our adoption of the budget, the level of spending in the discretionary category is decided.
Now, we find ourselves today further down the process. We are today at the appropriations stage. The level has already been decided. Our decision today is how we allocate the funds we have already decided to spend through our budget resolution. The funds set aside for this subcommittee will be spent. That decision has already been made. The decision that we are going to make today is the question of where those funds will be spent.
Now, having said that, Mr. Chairman, I welcome the opportunity to explain to my colleagues the nature of this project. And I have often thought, Mr. Chairman, if I ever had the chance to speak to a national audience about Rowan Oak and the William Faulkner Museum, I would take that opportunity. If I ever do get such a chance, I will tell my colleagues what an absolute jewel is located in my district in the form of Rowan Oak and the Faulkner legacy.
Of course, William Faulkner is one of the greatest authors in American history. The recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature, the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes. William Faulkner is one of the preeminent figures in the history of this Nation, and I have in my congressional district, I am fortunate to say, the home where he not only lived for 32 years, between 1930 and 1962, when he died, but where he wrote so many of America's great treasures, including Sanctuary; As I Lay Dying; Light in August; Absalom, Absalom; A Fable; The Unvanquished; Go Down, Moses; and the Reivers.
Thousands and thousands of tourists come to Rowan Oak and the University of Mississippi each year for the express purpose of seeing the legacy of William Faulkner. Our guests have included Prince Edward of England, numerous Members of this Congress, foreign Parliamentarians, and people from all over the world.
I want to congratulate my friend from Arizona, and he is my friend, for being consistent. If it were up to people like my friend from Arizona, perhaps we would never spend any money at the Federal level on higher education. Perhaps no Federal dollars would ever go to a museum of any type. It is an entirely honorable position to say that no local economic development project should ever be funded. That is an honorable viewpoint. I do not think it is the position of the Members of the House of Representatives, but it is a worthy opinion nonetheless.
I would simply say that at this point the decision has been made to allocate the money to the subcommittee. Our decision today is whether the allocation will be spent on priorities outlined by the elected representatives of the people or whether these funds will go back to an agency where a nameless, faceless, bureaucrat will make the decision about where these funds will be spent.
I urge the defeat of the amendment.
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