Henry Waxman

This language does limit the agency. I do not think it is binding, but they feel a limitation when the committee that is appropriating their money to stay in existence tells them not to do anything until you get another study, and this…

I am a little confused, and I want some clarification. As I understand what the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) told us, he expects the FDA to make some kind of interpretation of the primary intent of the drug.

If the manufacturer came in and asked for approval of a drug and it did not state that it was for that purpose, then the amendment would not apply?

I want a serious investigation. I want us to be able to conduct this investigation responsibly, competently and fairly. We have a resolution on the floor like this. After all the months we have asked for bipartisanship, it still seems to…

The environment is just as important to the American people as unfunded mandates. The environment is just as important for special procedural attention as new requirements that raise taxes or otherwise place mandates on the private sector…

I understand the distinction the gentleman is making, but if we imposed a tax on tobacco and wanted to use that money to help pay for Medicare, we would not have the opportunity to have a focus on that new tax increase. If we had that tax…

I am perplexed by my friend from California's statement as well. As I understand the underlying bill, it does not stop the Congress from doing anything. It just simply says, wait a minute, we want to take a look at this. And if we are…

It is still a mandate on the company that has the tax burden. On the other hand, as I understand the Dreier amendment, if we put a tax burden on one enterprise in order to spend the money on some worthwhile purpose, as the Congress sees…

As I understand the Dreier amendment, he would say it is all right to put a tax on a business if we give a tax break to another business.

Now, that mandate can be a new regulatory requirement or it can be a tax. That is a mandate that they have to pay.

I want to see if I understand the amendment, Mr. Chairman. The underlying bill requires that the House pay special attention if there is a mandate on private enterprise.

Let me draw a distinction. If a committee of Congress asks a witness to come and testify at a hearing or to testify under oath in a deposition, that information should be made public. That is on the record.

The statement was made that in case after case the agencies have not gone along with the discretion the Congress required them to use before they imposed civil penalties. I do not see how the gentleman can make that statement. The law…

Mr. Speaker, I want to join in expressing my shock and grief at the loss of our friend and colleague, Walter Capps. When we think of Walter Capps, the overwhelming aura of the man is the fundamental decency of him. In his life and in his…

What the amendment before us would do is, even if we found a needle exchange program could reduce the incidence of AIDS and if, when people came in for needle exchange, they were then encouraged to go into some program to cure their drug…

Whenever we have done clean air legislation we have done it on a bipartisan basis. It has never been a partisan issue. It should not be. We have always done it by trying to get all the very best information, but we should never give in to…

I thought that having this bill up today would be a useless exercise, but I think it is quite valuable in light of the comments that the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank] has made about how we need to cut back on spending in areas…

Let me reclaim my time and just tell the gentleman, I hope he is incorrect, and I want us to work on our committee in a bipartisan basis and to go forward together legitimately to understand the system, find abuses, hold them out to public…

I checked with the House Parliamentarian on this very issue, and he assured me that our committee does have jurisdiction, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, over all campaign finance issues. We need not be restricted only to the…

I only want to correct the record. The environmental groups that had supported this legislation have withdrawn their support because they know this law will not work unless we have an appropriation for that revolving fund.

I am astounded to hear the gentleman from Ohio talk about a bill that will cut out the safety net under the poor and then say in years to come the poor will ask us to cut capital gains and maybe something will trickle down. We need this…

If teenagers are denied confidential and affordable access to family planning services, they will be at a greater risk for sexually transmitted diseases, for unintended pregnancies and more likely to get an abortion. Many teenagers are not…

One of the very significant features of this bill is the right to know section that will give people clear information about any risks they are taking. I think that is important for people to have. We ought to empower people with that kind…

This Congress and the leadership of this Congress has done exactly what the tobacco industry has wanted it to do. It has stopped any investigation of the tobacco industry. It has condemned the Food and Drug Administration as it attempts to…

As the gentleman from Texas well knows, the most powerful special interest in this country is the tobacco industry. They have invariably gotten their way in the Congress of the United States. The inquiry that our subcommittee conducted…