mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , i heard my colleague from virginia say the cost is now up to three quarters of a million dollars . 
i do not think we are getting rid of the police officers ; i think we are just moving the five horses . 
their salaries , i think , would be fungible . 
so i do not think you can count that . 
as far as being something we do not need because the park police are already out there with their horses , let me state that the capitol grounds are statutorily defined , and because of that the park police do not have jurisdictions over the capitol grounds , it is my understanding . 
this program has only been in existence and operational since may of 2004 . 
the gao study , as the chairman stated , said that it is hard for them to quantify the benefits of the horse patrol because the performance measures are evolving , he failed to say the rest of it , and that data is still being collected on these measures . 
so we are trying to get rid of something that we have not even given a chance to see if it works . 
we are talking about $ 155 , 000 . 
i am quoting from the gao results that they gave when they appeared before the committee on appropriations . 
the horses right now are housed , i heard my colleague from virginia say earlier , that they were housed 20 miles away . 
that is correct , they are . 
and he says that they have to be under stress whenever they are in traffic . 
well , i am a horsewoman . 
i have seven horses of my own . 
let me tell you , it does not cost me $ 155 , 000 for seven horses . 
we have five horses here , and it certainly does not cost three-quarters of a million dollars , and we do not have to provide health benefits and retirement and the like to the horses . 
i think we are cutting short a program that we have not given a chance . 
i urge my colleagues to support my amendment . 
i think it is a good cause . 
i think the horses do a great job . 
it is great pr for us . 
i see folks going up and talking to our capitol police officers . 
yes , the police officers do have the bicycles , but i would venture to say the guys on the bicycles are not sitting up as high as the guys and gals on top of the horses . 
so if there is a problem , they can not see over the cars ; they can not see through the crowds . 
i am pretty passionate about this whole situation . 
yes , i am . 
i just do not think we have given this program the time it needs to really be evaluated , and i go back to what the gao study says , that it is still evolving . 
i will remind members in the gao study they do not recommend eliminating the mounted horse patrol . 
that is critical . 
they do not recommend eliminating it . 
give it time . 
let us let them have their day . 
mr. chairman , i yield back the balance of my time . 
