The RNC is LYING about Kerry's intelligence views. And also, Clinton RAISED the CIA budget, didn't cut it, as the RNC liatr brigade suggests. Here is the Kerry camp's rsponse to this scurrilous BS put out by Ed Gillespie.
RESPONSE: Truth About John Kerry’s Votes on Intelligence and the FBI
1. John Kerry did not vote to cut the FBI’s budget by $80 million. The 1995 vote was to reallocate funds to crime prevention programs that had been deeply slashed and redirected by Sen. Phil Gramm, then a Republican Presidential candidate, in committee. Gramm’s Committee sent a bill to the floor that contained $80 million more than requested by the FBI and the Administration, but in turn cut or eliminated a broad range of local anti-crime programs. The effort was part of Gramm’s primary campaign and also included cuts to the Violence Against Women Act and the COPS programs that were reinstated in other amendments. Raving liberals like Alan Simpson (R-WY) and Mike DeWine (R-OH) also voted for the amendment, which passed 49-41. [HR2076, 9/29/1995, #480]
“The bill also appeared caught in the friction between Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., and Phil Gramm, R-Texas, rivals for the GOP presidential nomination. The two men skirmished to take the lead on high profile issues in the bill, such as crime and affirmative action. Gramm chairs the subcommittee that wrote the bill, which reflects some of his conservative priorities. For instance, he included language from barring any agencies funded in the bill implementing affirmative action programs - although that was later dropped on the floor. Gramm also cut boldly into programs - crime prevention, legal aid to the poor, and U.N. peacekeeping, among others - of which he has been critical.” [Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 9/30/1995] |
