From The Seattle Times, 6/15/05:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002336531_reichert15m.html
Reichert goes to bat for police, ticks off own party
By Alicia Mundy
Seattle Times Washington bureau
WASHINGTON --
Rep. Dave Reichert broke with Republican leaders in Congress
yesterday, proposing to restore $78 million to a federal program that
helped King County hire dozens of deputies when he was sheriff.
The freshman Republican from Auburn lost badly in his attempt to amend
the U.S. Justice Department appropriations bill -- and antagonized one
of the more important Republicans in the House in the process.
In trying to reverse cuts to the Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS) program, Reichert violated one of the cardinal rules of
Congress: Never tick off a cardinal.
The cardinals are the 10 powerful chairmen of the subcommittees of the
House Appropriations Committee, which controls the federal budget.
One of those cardinals is Frank Wolf, a longtime GOP representative
from Northern Virginia who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that
oversees the Justice Department budget.
During a floor debate yesterday, Wolf yelled at times and denounced
Reichert's proposal for shifting money from federal law enforcement to
COPS.
Wolf almost accused Reichert himself of being willing to allow
terrorist groups and drug gangs to run rampant across America.
"There could be, and probably is, al-Qaida sleeper cells operating in
the U.S.," he snapped.
"This is a bad amendment."
The COPS program, started under President Clinton, was meant to put
100,000 police officers on the streets.
The Bush administration has been cutting its funding in recent years.
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Hmmmmmm. Interesting that the Repug committee chairmen should be
calling themselves "cardinals", eh?
Harry
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