Feb 27, 2025
The legislature of Iowa for the future of our children and our culture has a vested interest and solemn responsibility to stand up for immutable truth.
Steven Holt
The Public Record
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March 1, 2025
The legislature of Iowa for the future of our children and our culture has a vested interest and solemn responsibility to stand up for immutable truth.
— Steven Holt
Most widely reported
by number of sources- Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1231. Let's review the technological, scientific, and political accomplishment that the TIROS I satellite represents. In October of 1957, the launch by the Soviet Union of the Sputnik satellite struck fear in the hearts of Americans. Sputnik II went into space weighing over 1,000 pounds and carrying a dog. Meanwhile, the United States was developing far smaller satellites and experiencing troubles and public setbacks. On December 6, 1957, a Vanguard rocket failed to launch a U.S. satellite into space when it exploded on national television. In January 1958, the U.S. successfully launched a 31-pound Explorer I satellite, but even this victory was quickly followed by the loss of another Vanguard satellite in February. As the early space race continued through 1958 and 1959, the Soviet Union always seemed to be a step ahead of the United States. The shock of Sputnik and the fear that the United States was losing its competitive edge inspired a national effort to prove and improve American leadership in the fields of science, math, and engineering.2 sources2010govinfo.gov
- I rise in support of H. Res. 1363, which gives the Committee on Education and Labor, on which I sit, the ability to investigate the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. This resolution allows us to do our work, and I would like to speak about that subject. In a greater sense, this resolution honors the coal miners who perished in the tragedy and works to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again. We owe it to the remaining families and to all mining families. I feel strongly and personally about the concerns of miners because I was born and reared in West Virginia where my father, the late U.S. Senator many decades ago, was known as one of the best friends the miner has ever had. There's no question that mining has been a dangerous job. Although the number of deaths in America's mines has been reduced, today coal mining is rated still among the most dangerous jobs in America, and it does not have to be that way. I support the Education and Labor Committee's work to investigate any possible health and safety violations at Upper Big Branch and to see if laws were circumvented and miners' lives were put recklessly at risk. Those responsible must be held accountable. Too many families have suffered the loss of a loved one in a mining disaster.2 sources2010govinfo.gov
- I thank my friend from Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1230. This is the first in the Republican ``amnesia acts'' that ignore what happened last year in the Gulf of Mexico. It would force the Department of Interior to rush into holding new lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Virginia, not far from New Jersey, I might add, even though Congress has not enacted a single piece of legislation to improve the safety of offshore drilling. The President's spill commission reported that offshore drilling in U.S. waters is four times more deadly than drilling elsewhere in the world, even for the same companies. Clearly there is a safety problem that must be addressed. And I must emphasize, because they have talked about it again and again, they are talking about high oil prices, high prices at the pump. We feel it. Everybody in America feels it. Do they address it? No, they do not address gasoline prices. It actually accelerates handouts to Big Oil, this legislation does. In addition to being silent on safety concerns, this prohibits any further environmental review in the gulf based on the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon last year. That tragedy exposed the woefully inadequate ways in which the environmental reviews had been done in the Gulf of Mexico. Need I remind the Speaker or the majority that there are no walruses to protect in the Gulf of Mexico? As you heard from Mr.…2 sources2011govinfo.gov
- I thank the gentleman, and I appreciate that this bipartisan amendment offered by my colleague Representative Runyan of New Jersey has been accepted by the majority, and I thank Chair Culberson and Ranking Member Bishop and their staffs for making this possible. As you may know, Mr. Chairman, last month the Federal Ninth Circuit Court sided with two veterans groups that sued the Department of Veterans Affairs for failing to provide timely care to veterans at risk of suicide. The court noted that on average, 18 veterans per day take their own lives. I'll repeat. On average, 18 veterans per day take their own lives. We must end this suicide epidemic. This amendment is one important step in that process. Our amendment is simple. It fences $20 million of the billion dollars in advance funding for the VA for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 and dedicates these funds to suicide prevention outreach. Specifically, our intention is to use television ads and social media. We know that when veterans are made aware of the national suicide prevention number, which is 1-800- 273-TALK, they use it. And lives are saved. 1-800-273-TALK. Indeed, in the State of New Jersey, we have our own veteran counseling hotline, the Vet-to-Vet Program run by the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey. Since it went live a half dozen years ago, no New Jersey Guard member who has used its services has taken his or her own life. It is a successful program. We want to see this expanded.…2 sources2011govinfo.gov
- I thank my friend from Texas. The history of America has been a history of expanding the franchise, the opportunity, the right to vote. And it's based on this principle that we often talk about in this Chamber but maybe don't pay enough attention to, which is the principle of equality under the law. We're not just saying that, Yes, everybody can vote--well, unless you are disabled, and you can't get into the polling place. Or everybody can vote except, well, if you're 75 years old, 85 years old, you are no longer driving, and you have let your driver's license expire, and, no, you haven't gotten down to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get another one. Or we'll let everybody vote--well, as long as you pay a tax or if your grandfather voted or if you can cross these hurdles. Our history has been a history of saying everybody is equal under the law. And we don't put artificial hurdles in place. The 15th Amendment said you can't deny African Americans the right to vote. In 1915, the Supreme Court said, The grandfather clauses are unconstitutional, which would outlaw exemptions from literacy requirements for voters whose grandfathers had been eligible to vote at the time of the Civil War. The 19th Amendment said women can vote. The 23rd Amendment said citizens of the District of Columbia could vote in Presidential elections. The 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes.…2 sources2011govinfo.gov
- the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is a terrible burden on middle class taxpayers and the middle class should be excluded from the AMT. Once again, however, the Republican leadership is using budget gimmicks to hide the real cost of their tax cut and doing nothing to offset it. While the proposed AMT relief bill carries an official cost of $17 billion, its actual long-term costs are much higher: $549 billion over ten years, or $658 billion if the added interest costs on the national debt are taken into account. Indeed, by proposing a one-year ``fix'' to a perpetual problem, H.R. 4227 purposefully obscures not just the long-term cost of AMT reform. Ignoring these long-term costs irresponsibly undermines our ability to adequately plan for the future. It costs the future generation, as well as the present economy. More unpaid-for tax cuts will not only jeopardize critical public services now, but they will also hurt Americans well into the future. Massive deficits now create large debt and high interest payments that will crowd out spending on public investments for future generations. Moreover, these deep deficits threaten to increase interest rates in the future--making it harder for Americans to buy homes and afford higher education, and making it harder for business to raise capital. This is why I support the Democratic alternative to relieve the burden of the AMT on middle class taxpayers.2 sources2004govinfo.gov
nbcnews.com
Dec 10, 2014
I thank my colleague, Mr. Pascrell from New Jersey, for underscoring the importance of what we do here in this House. Those are not just numbers on a page that he was quoting; those are people's lives and livelihoods, and we have work to…
Dec 10, 2014
As one who has also chosen to step aside at the end of this term, I want to recognize and thank two legislative giants, Henry Waxman and George Miller. They came at the same time. Although they are very different people, each shows…
Dec 9, 2014
Others on the floor are recounting Representative John Dingell, Jr.'s historic legislative record, his breathtaking parliamentary skills, and his powerful advocacy. I won't repeat all of that here. But I would like to say something about…
Nov 19, 2014
I thank the gentlelady, my good friend from Texas, and I rise in opposition to this legislation. The bill concerns me, not only about the interference with protection of public health, but also the harm it would do to science and the…
Nov 19, 2014
Were it to become law, studies that might be used on regulations to keep drinking water safe or to prevent exposure to dangerous pesticides or other chemicals would be null and void. Let's be honest. The not-so-hidden motivations behind…
Nov 18, 2014
I thank my good friend from Oregon. I rise in opposition to this legislation, H.R. 1422, as yet another attempt to gut the EPA and to reform it into an advocate for industry. Now, the proponents make claims that sound noble and virtuous…
Nov 13, 2014
I ask my colleagues to join me in welcoming Imam Hamad Ahmad Chebli, the Imam of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey in South Brunswick, New Jersey. Imam Chebli has been both a friend and an ambassador of Islam to me and many others in…
Nov 13, 2014
I thank my friend from Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill. We have heard about the nature of this very dirty material that is dug, rather than pumped, and the fact that it will go through America, not to America. Now…
Jul 29, 2014
I ask the Chair the time remaining on each side. The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from New Jersey has 1\1/2\ minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Washington has 2\1/2\ minutes remaining.