Scientific Research in the National Interest Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Chairman Smith's bill, H.R. 3293. At a time when budget constraints and the deficit loom large and ominous, why in the world would anyone object to more transparency and accountability? Can anyone explain that to me? I didn't think so.
Here is how some of our hardworking taxpayer money is being spent.
Mr. Chairman, I have a list of 41 studies and programs that, if taxpayers knew, they would rise up and revolt.
Some of the more notable are:
$227,000 to review animal photos in National Geographic magazine. (what baboon thought that up?)
$350,000 to study human-set fires in New Zealand in the 1800s. (the main ``human set fire'' here is our taxpayer dollars being burned)
$200,000 to tour Europe for an overview of the Turkish fashion-veil industry. (I am reminded that fashion is a form of ugliness so bad, it has to be changed about every 6 months!)
$735,000 for the American Bar Association to follow young lawyers' careers (3 awards).
$920,000 to study textile-making in Iceland during the Viking era (2 awards).
$50,000 to support STEM education in Sri Lanka.
$164,000 to study Chinese immigration to Italy (1900 to present).
$20,000 to study stress among people from lowland Bolivia (one of 12 awards).
$147,000 to analyze fishing practices at Lake Victoria, Africa. (Heck: all you gotta do is come down to my district in Galveston TX and we'll show you how to analyze fishing practices for a lot less and you can spend that money in our country!)
$147,000 to study international marriages between citizens of France and Madagascar.
$50,000 to study civil lawsuits in colonial Peru (1600-1700 AD).
$250,000 to survey public attitudes about the Senate filibuster rule.
$300,000 to study law firms in Silicon Valley.
$170,000 to study basket weaving among Alaskan native peoples (2 awards). Perhaps that's what folks think Congress is majoring in.
$276,000 to study the pre-history of Chiapas, Mexico.
$246,000 to study migration and adoption between Peru and Spain.
$134,000 to study Late Bronze Age metallurgy in the Southern Urals, Russia.
$195,000 to contrast the histories of Patagonian and Amazonian national parks.
$281,000 to analyze the history of Izapa, Mexico.
$136,000 to study life/history transitions among indigenous people of northern Argentina.
$27,000 to study Mayan wooden architecture and salt industry (600-900 AD).
$92,000 to study Mexico's public vehicle registration system.
$373,000 to study Chinese kinship, women's labor and economy (1600- 2000 AD).
$152,000 to analyze accountability and transparency in China's dairy industry.
$300,000 to study Cyprus during the Bronze Age (2 awards).
$226,000 to study cultural dynamics in western Turkey.
$119,000 to coordinate an international archeological project in the S. American Andes.
$300,000 to produce an experimental dance program about nature and physics.
$516,000 to help amateurs create a video game--``Relive Prom Night.''
$200,000 to devise social media algorithms for ``Truthy.com,'' a website aimed at censoring political speech by Tea Party members, conservatives, etc.
$605,000 to travel and study why people around the world cheat on their taxes.
$193,000 to study human fish consumption in Tanzania (300-1500 AD).
$221,000 to study use of ochre pigment for painting in Stone Age Kenya.
$101,000 to pay for American psychologists to international conferences.
$250,000 to educate local TV meteorologists about climate change (2 awards).
$38,000 to consider whether livestock herding families in rural, undeveloped areas have more children in response to herd growth, or if increased family size drives herd growth.
$193,000 to study human fish consumption in Tanzania (1300-1500 AD).
$38,000 to study prehistoric rabbit hunting on the Iberian Peninsula.
$1.8 million to study the potential of commercial fish farming at Lake Victoria, Africa.
$330,000 to study the careers of 2,500 new lawyers in Russia.
$1.5 million to study pasture management in Mongolia.
Mr. Chairman, some of the more notable are:
$227,000 to review animal photos in National Geographic magazine. What baboon thought that up?
$350,000 to study human-set fires in New Zealand in the 1800s. The only thing being set on fire here is taxpayers' dollars.
$200,000 to tour Europe for an overview of the Turkish fashion veil industry. I am reminded what a friend of mine says. He says fashion is a form of ugliness so bad that we have to change it every 6 months, and yet we want to study it over in another country.
$147,000 to analyze fishing practices at Lake Victoria, Africa. Heck, folks, if y'all come on down to Galveston, Texas, we will show y'all how to fish and analyze that, and you can spend money in our country.
$170,000 to study basket weaving among Alaskan Native peoples. Is it any wonder that most of Americans think Congress must major in basket weaving?
These are just some of the more notable ones, Mr. Chairman. I could go on through the 41 on the list. For example, $330,000 to study the careers of 2,500 new lawyers in Russia. It is not that we don't have enough lawyers over here in America; now we are concerned about the ones in Russia.
I could go on and on, Mr. Chairman. I just want to simply say, I urge my colleagues to support transparency and accountability on behalf of our constituents and taxpayers. After all, they are paying the freight for this stuff. Shouldn't we be open and accountable to them?
I commend Chairman Smith for his bill and for putting hardworking taxpaying Americans first.
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