Jay Dickey

H.R. 3877 would designate the Post Office building in Camden, AR, as the David H. Pryor Post Office Building. The bill is intended to recognize Senator Pryor's distinguished career in public service, as an Arkansas State representative for…

Would that provision in this bill direct the Corps to use the funds provided in fiscal year 1997 to begin construction of a diversion channel, or at least to begin moving dirt?

Mr. Chairman, this is not a bill about research or science; it is an attack on the sanctity of life. It is an attack on the moral conscience of our Nation. The current law, as signed by the President, passed in this House and the Senate…

What we have now, though, is an enemy, not something that is tangible, but something that we are faced with and we might get into, and that is indulgent spending. Our Nation is spending money, this Congress is spending money, that we do…

I come here in somewhat of a solemn fashion. I represent the Fourth District of Arkansas, the home district of the President of the United States. Because of that, I have studiously avoided publicly criticizing him in any way. Today I want…

according to the National Taxpayers Union, the citizens of this country will pay out in 1996 over $600,000 in pensions to convicted former Members of Congress. What kind of message is this to send out to the taxpayers, farmers, miners, all…

That is the excess. The excess of congeniality can be harmful, too. That is the balance.

Let me ask you this. Do you not think that getting to know somebody away from here helps you with a perspective, too?

I would like to talk in opposition to the minimum wage increase from the standpoint of what business would have to say about this. I do not know if that has been brought into this discussion. Mr. Speaker, I am an employer, I am a…

I think maybe some of us got elected by saying we do not want to be a part of that up there, so we come here and to prove that. We might have in the back of our minds an unconscious goal of trying to offend people and say back home, 'Look…

There is a biblical principle, and that is, find first what you have in common with somebody.

I understand you are saying I am heartless, and you know better than that. What I am trying to say, what I want the question to be answered is, why not encourage these people to improve rather than to say this minimum is the maximum? Why…

When McDonald's can get $200,000 to advertise chicken nuggets, then I think we are taking care of employers. When AT&T can get $34 million, we are taking care of employers. We have not begun to talk about corporate welfare yet. This…

let me introduce one other thought to this discussion, and that is good humor. I know you all have it, and we kid each other a lot. But you know, if we could get our personalities in this thing and do jokes some, you knows, there are some…

Is it not true that you respect my voice a little bit more because we are closer to Louisiana right on the border? Is that not true? Do you not listen to me a little bit more because it is home folks talking?

I do not think we respect ourselves when we do that. I think we walk over here saying, boy, but there is a feeling that settles in that I miss the point by doing that.

I mean, these trips are bad as we have seen the excesses, but getting away and looking back together about what we are doing here helps in the relationships, and I think it will help the dialogs if we do more of it.

I agree with that. Now you know, let us say something that is positive here. We are having an enormous change in our Nation. You know, Zach was talking about it is a mirror image. But what the people of America see when they see us…

If you want an answer from the politician's standpoint, we are past the point of debating that. It is behind us. We must have a minimum wage.

Thank you, Mr. Fields. On the question of congeniality, as you started your statement, I would like to go back to that a second. The race you ran for Governor and the respectful way that you did not trash your opponent, you did not bring…

As a politician, the minimum wage exists and we have to have a minimum wage. Now what I am saying to you as far as the economy is concerned, it is destructive of the economy's best interests. As an employer, I would say that I could take…

if the gentleman will yield, how much minimum wage do you think we ought to have? $5? $10? Why would you stop? If there is a profit in the business under your theory, why stop at $25 an hour? I am serious about this. Where do you say, OK…

Let me ask the question now. Let me ask the question, if in fact we are going to accuse people who have been successful, of what you just accused.

If we are to set up a role model for people to work toward in a capitalistic society, and if we are trying to get that message down to the lowest of the people in the economy and say, if you will work hard, this is what will happen, how…

If this plan that you have for raising the minimum wage, if, just give me that, if it, because of the increased costs of the wages and on the payroll and the taxes that comes, if this causes a taco to go from 89 to 90 cents, 1 penny…