Rep. McCollum Rejects Republican Leadership Move to Eliminate Convention Security Funds for St. Paul

Statement

Rep. McCollum rejects Republican leadership move to eliminate convention security funds for St. Paul

Minnesota Democrat calls on St. Paul to withdraw from hosting Republican National Convention if Republican leadership cuts security funding

From CQ TODAY:

"New Stopgap Bill Looms as Search Continues for Omnibus Spending Consensus," Dec. 12, 2007 - 1:00 p.m.

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said there had been some discussion of providing emergency funding for security at the two national party conventions next summer. "We've only known about the convention for years. It's not an emergency. We're not going to let them be included,'' Blunt said. "If there's a true emergency out there, something we wouldn't have had any reason to anticipate, something that wouldn't be recurring, that's an emergency,'' said Blunt.

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, today rejected a call by House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) to eliminate federal emergency funding to pay for security at the September 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN. McCollum strongly supports appropriating $50 million in emergency funding to ensure local residents, convention delegates and other visitors are safe and protected during the four day convention.

"St. Paul's civic leaders and business community have been working tirelessly to ensure a successful and safe convention for our Republican guests. If the Republican leadership in the U.S. House does not want to provide the necessary security funding to protect the President of the United States, the Republican presidential nominee, convention delegates and my constituents then this convention can go somewhere else," McCollum said.

"Speaker Pelosi and Appropriations Chairman Obey (D-WI) have given their commitments to work to get this security funding to both St. Paul and Denver and I am grateful for their support. But if Republican leadership eliminates this security funding I will be calling on St. Paul's mayor and city council to pull the plug on the convention. The Republicans can take their convention to Guantanamo Bay where security won't be a problem, but St. Paul taxpayers will not be left holding the bill," McCollum concluded.

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