mr. chairman , i will be brief . 
first of all , this is not a killer amendment . 
this is not an unreasonable amendment , and the sponsor has certainly always been a very reasonable member of congress , and we are arguing at the margins here in terms of what we are doing , and i recognize that . 
and i recognize these arguments because they are compelling to a degree . 
having said all those things , i still oppose it . 
and let me explain why . 
it is not a lot different from what i have already said , mr. chairman , and that is essentially we are trying to make this a medal of true distinction for true heroes of the united states of america . 
i also believe , by the way , and the gentleman from new york ( mr. crowley ) xz4000870 said something i thought was interesting , and that is it is difficult to get the names on the legislation . 
so the first year becomes a little more difficult , and that is true . 
we sort of learn techniques in this when we have done it . 
one is we take it to conferences or big gatherings of people and pass it out that way . 
the gentleman from new jersey ( mr. payne ) xz4003120 will always be a hero in my mind because he took it amongst the democrats and got a lot of signatures when i was struggling with it on a bill that i did last year , and i appreciate that a great deal . 
but i have learned when one really applies oneself , they can do it reasonably rapidly ; and hopefully the committees will be able to be responsive to it and will be able to do two a year if that is what we decide to do . 
but my judgment is four in total in the course of 2 years is sufficient . 
and i am worried about the influx that is going on . 
the chairman cited the numbers . 
i do not remember the exact numbers . 
it was something like 45 medals in the first 120 years and now 10 times that many in the last 10 years . 
that means that this has increased , i think , at a rate that is too rapid , and again i do not in any way belittle anyone who has received this because they are all very distinguished people . 
but having said that , we want this to be the highest honor possible . 
so my judgment is we should defeat the amendment . 
if at some point it proves we need to expand this , we would certainly consider that . 
but i think we should try to restore this program to where it was before . 
