Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - July 25, 2007)

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Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. Boswell:

At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:

Sec. __X. The amounts otherwise provided by this Act are revised by reducing the amount made available for the ``DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE--General Administration--salaries and expenses'', by increasing the amount made available for ``DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE--Office of Justice Programs--community oriented policing services'', and by increasing the amount made available for paragraph (5) of the last proviso under the heading ``DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE--Office of Justice Programs--community oriented policing services'' by ``$1,000,000'', ``$1,000,000'', and ``$1,000,000'', respectively.

Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order.

The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from New Jersey reserves a point of order.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Chairman, I've just conferred with the Chair of the subcommittee, and he has asked me to offer it and withdraw it, and we will work on it before we go to conference. So out of my respect for him and the ranking member, of course I will do that.

I would just like to say this: In the last 2 years, we have done a little bit more than this for this good cause, and it's something that's helping law enforcement out across the country. And it's not big bucks, it's pretty small. But then again, you've got to work with where you're at. But it does increase law enforcement agencies' access to records on persons who pose a risk to local communities. I can assure you that the law enforcement agencies need this access, as we think about the things that happen to our children and older folks and so on, to be able to access that good information.

So with my appreciation, Mr. Chairman, I will ask unanimous consent to withdraw, with looking forward to working on this at a later point.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BOSWELL. I will yield to the gentleman.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. The committee has heard the gentleman. In years past the gentleman has been very concerned. He has asked for increases to the Criminal Records Upgrade Program grants, and the committee has been very receptive to that. Indeed, the committee this year has increased funding for this program by $2.1 million over 2007, which in part was an effort to be responsive to the gentleman's consistently expressed concerns about this, and genuine concerns, about this account.

If the gentleman has looked at this carefully, we respect his expertise in this area, and we would be interested in visiting with him as we move this to conference and understanding more clearly the justification for an additional increase.

And because of who the gentleman is, I have no doubt that his reasons are valid. And so we look forward to working with him to find a better offset and to be responsive to his needs, if at all possible, as we move to and through conference.

Mr. BOSWELL. Well, I know your sincerity, and I know the ranking member's sincerity in this area. You have worked very hard on it. And I accept that, with appreciation.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Well, I just want to emphasize that in response to your efforts, we've increased it this year above last year, so we've already been successful.

Mr. BOSWELL. We will have some interesting discussion, and I look forward to it. Thank you for letting me have this moment.

I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.

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