mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , i support this amendment , and just let me give a little bit of the history of this . 
the gentleman from new york ( mr. sweeney ) xz4003930 is correct that the first responder grants were a part of the original patriot act . 
we did not know how to divide up the first responder grants properly , so we put a formula in . 
well , it ended up that the formula had some anomalies , and it ended up being out of date . 
as a result , in the last congress the committee on the judiciary and the select committee on homeland security worked out an agreement where the formula would be modified , where there would be certain floors for states , a lot of the money would be threat-based and the types of grants were consolidated so that there would be a simpler application process . 
that bill was passed 409 to 10 . 
there were just a few members that voted against it . 
then it went over to the other body and nothing happened to it . 
we have attempted to redo the first responder grants again in this congress , and there is no hope that the other body will take the stand-alone bill and enact it into law . 
by adopting this amendment , we are going to be in a stronger position to actually make the needed changes in the formula law of the united states of america this year without further delay . 
that is why this amendment should be supported . 
i would hope that it would have an overwhelming vote . 
mr. chairman , i yield back the balance of my time . 
