[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  IS WASHINGTON OMNIPOTENT? I DOUBT IT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. Johnson] for 2 minutes.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I hate to see comments like we 
just heard. Is Washington omnipotent? I doubt it.
  I would like to quote what the administration thinks of our 
Governors' and mayors' ability to fight crime in their own States and 
cities.
  The Justice Department said, ``The proposed block grant will be 
dissipated by applying the funds to unwise and frivolous expenditures, 
with the result that their impact was scattershot, short-term, and 
diluted.''
  They continue by saying, ``Local officials would be free to engage in 
100 percent federally funded `spending spree,' with no guidance as to 
how these funds should be spent.''
  Do our local officials need guidance from Washington, DC? I do not 
think so. A Member of this body said that grants would be just like 
``throwing dollars down a rat hole.'' Is he calling our State and local 
governments rat holes? I do not think they are.
  Is this not the pot calling the kettle black?
  A Federal Government that has accumulated a $5 trillion debt is 
saying that our State and local government officials will go on a 
spending spree.
  Well, I do not think Americans want, need, or deserve control from 
Washington, DC. Unlike some of our Washington crowd, we must have faith 
in our Governors, our mayors, our police chiefs and every citizen of 
this country; that they, not some Washington bureaucrat, know best how 
to fight crime in America.

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