as an undergraduate and law school graduate of UCLA, and as the Representative of the congressional district that includes the UCLA campus, I rise to congratulate the Bruins on a great victory on Monday night. Coach John Wooden once said…

let us understand that this legislation before us today sets a very high threshold before punitive damages can be awarded. I think what this amendment is doing is using the FDA as a cover for manufacturers whose products have caused real…

I am astounded at the comments of my colleague from California, new chairman of the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Ways and Means. Our State of California has these limits that this proposal would impose upon the whole country…

If the gentleman will permit, medical malpractice and defensive medicine is a real problem. We need to address it. We need to look at a lot of different alternatives, alternative dispute mechanisms, some ways to compensate people who can…

H.R. 5 provides that Federal agencies must consult with State and local governments before proposing Federal regulations. This amendment that I am offering modifies this provision to require that Federal agencies also consult with…

I will support the Moran amendment because I think it is an improvement over the text that has been submitted to this Committee of the Whole. But I do not think it goes far enough. I would hope that when we go into conference with the…

Mr. Chairman, I want to join in support of this amendment. I think it is a very constructive one. This analysis about the competitive situation between the public and the private side will be a very useful one. I think this is a helpful…

I understand the point the gentleman is making, that you think all parties ought to be involved, but I wanted to point out that the comment period is after a proposal is already on the table. And this bill provides that State and local…

this amendment has been worked out in consultation with the majority. Section 201(c)(2) requires an evaluation of private sector costs associated with major rules that appear to largely duplicate the evaluation required in section 202…

If a local government is running an incinerator and they want to come in in advance and have consultation with the regulators, that is unfair to the citizens who are not also being consulted in advance who are going to have to breathe in…

That is why the amendment that is being offered today that would say, ``Let's look at environmental issues as one where we are not going to consider it an unfunded mandate in order to make sure that we don't put private enterprise at a…

reclaiming my time, if I might respond, the gentleman is absolutely correct. There is the option of waiving the point of order and requiring a vote on the House floor. But that could have been the same application for the exception in…

It without this legislation becoming law does not make a distinction between privately and publicly owned. If there is a regulation to protect the consumers or environment or to protect public health, it would apply equally. There is no…

It does not prohibit existing law. It strengthens what would otherwise be in the legislation itself.

whenever EPA wants to revise their regulations to meet problems that were not otherwise foreseen which are consistent with existing law, those regulations would have to undergo the analysis as to whether they constitute an unfunded…

Mr. Chairman, I do not think it is inappropriate to discuss these issues and discuss them right now. What has been inappropriate, in my estimation, is the way this bill has been steamrolled through this Congress without even hearings in…

there are two ways we are going to have an unfunded mandate provision apply. One is if it is legislation to be brought up, not existing legislation but new legislation, and if it is brought up in the Congress, it will have the cost…

I think he makes an excellent point. We do give the States the flexibility in that responsibility that they take to devise their own plans for reducing emissions so that the health of the public will be protected. But I would suggest that…

in the bill itself you have some exemptions. The bill says if it is a statutory right that prohibits discrimination, we will not look at the cost of that. That, of course, involves civil rights laws and the Americans With Disabilities Act…

New regulations to be issued by an agency would follow an analysis by the budget people as to the cost, and of course that analysis is only one sided, it is only the cost, not the benefits.

what the gentleman is arguing is prospective legislation could have provisions in it that would deal with this problem. But I do want to point out that the existing legislation before us today says that under existing laws if EPA adopts a…

I want to join in this memorial service and commemorate the relationship that so many of us had with our colleague, Ed Madigan. Ed and I served together on the Commerce Committee, and for a number of years he was the ranking minority…

I rise today in opposition to the McCloskey amendment. Like all of my colleagues, I have been horrified to watch the violence and turmoil that have marked the brutal civil war in Bosnia, and I have been deeply saddened by the tragic loss…

I join my colleagues today in rising to commemorate the Armenians who perished in this century's first genocide. Anyone who has studied or discussed the tragic events that befell the Armenian community 79 years ago--not to mention the…

this is a debate about one basic issue: Will all Americans have health care coverage? Right now they don't. Almost 39 million Americans are uninsured. Eight million of them are children. Think about that. In this, our rich country, 8…