Jeff Flake

I thank the sponsor of this amendment. It is important. I think that we need to do all we can to make sure the feeder documents, the primary documents upon which passports are issued, are safer than they are today. I think it is important…

Before yielding the balance of my time to the distinguished chairman, let me just point out, if this is contempt, the only difference, because the Lantos substitute is the same substance, is that this maybe is contempt with teeth as…

Mr. Speaker I rise today to encourage this body the take up meaningful, comprehensive immigration reform. As conservatives, we believe in the rule of law. We believe that we ought to enforce the law, but before we can enforce the law, we…

Let me just read this statement. It seems the Washington Post has some sympathy for this: ``The Federal Government is the largest landowner in Washington. Since the land cannot be taxed, the Federal Government is the principal contributor…

I don't know how you can have this level of mismanagement at the U.N., this big of a scandal, and not say to the man at the top that you had nothing to do with it.

Mr. Chairman, there are two bases on which to go for this amendment. One is the economic one, and one is the health one. You heard my colleague from Maryland give all the reasons on the health side, but if you look at the simple facts out…

I would simply say that it has been pointed out again and again here, this does not prevent a buyout. Perhaps a buyout is proper, but it should happen not with taxpayer funds, but with industry funds. So this simply protects the taxpayer.

I feel compelled to say again, this is not about travel. This is about the freedom of Cuban Americans to send packages of soap and clothing and personal hygiene items to their families in Cuba.

To me, the only thing worse than a bailout of an industry is a bailout of certain segments or certain companies within an industry, and that is exactly what the Senate version of the bill purports to do. We should not be going this…

But it really made me think and ponder back about our time with the Iraqi people and about the experiences that we had where the yearning for freedom is strong; it is in the soul of every man and woman. And as our President has said…

We were told that Saddam Hussein had built some 70 palaces just in the last 10 years during the time of the sanctions for food program, or the oil for food program, where every drop of oil revenue was supposed to be spent for the benefit…

Had everyone known it would be $534 billion, it may have caused a few other members of Congress to not get on board. And that would have been helpful, frankly, to those of us that didn't want to see it passed.

Let me rephrase the question. If NASA takes advantage of the new flexibility given them to the fullest extent, will it have an additional draw on the Treasury or will it be totally within NASA's existing budget?

I have never heard so much concern for the rich coming from the other side of the aisle here. I just am overwhelmed with the concern that is over there that people like Arnold Schwarzenegger and others will not be able to afford…

I would submit that this is real accountability. Portability is the best accountability.

We simply cannot deal with the tremendous issues that we have to deal with in terms of tax relief, regulatory reform and to decide, as the gentleman from Missouri appropriately put it, what obligations the airlines actually have and what…

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate this opportunity to stand in support of the Flake amendment. What the Flake amendment simply says is that this is all about freedom. Our government should not tell us where we can and cannot travel. It is a…

We are in a situation now, since the gentleman yielded, where American families all over the country are having to cut their own budget.

Now, how can somebody spend like a drunken sailor and then all of a sudden find religion when it comes to raising the debt limit? This is just like eating a big meal and walking out on the bill. There are only a few people in this House…

This farm bill is bad for Americans. It will cost the average American family over $4,000 in terms of direct taxes and price supports, inflated prices because of price supports over the next 10 years. We are abandoning the Freedom to Farm…

Reclaiming my time, all we are seeking to do here is give them the flexibility that is enjoyed by other agencies. We believe that is needed. I commend the gentleman for doing this. I was pleased to support the manager's amendment. There…

We cannot know. We simply do not know. We do not know who is here, who is there, how many are here illegally. There is so much we do not know at the INS.

We have to look at history. It has been cut before, and the result has been an increase in asset values and more investment. People are not going to take that out and stick it under a mattress. They are going to invest again. There is a…

Mr. Speaker, the travel restrictions to Cuba have outlived their usefulness. For 40 years we have tried to isolate Cuba and to change that Communist country by not allowing Americans to travel there. It has not worked. Fidel Castro is…

I have one piece of concern about the legislation that I wanted to air here. The bailout, or the $5 billion portion, is given on the basis of formula, which is fine, as it should be. However, the next portion, the loan guarantees, will be…