WALLY HERGER

Creating a Tax Code that removes these issues, and creates a system that is more accessible and comprehensible to the American public, has the potential to fix many of these problems.

There are a number of reasons for Congress to seriously consider tax reform, but I would like to focus on the impact on jobs.

One principle the President has repeatedly stated and that I fully agree with is that people who like the coverage they have should be able to keep it.

To paraphrase an old saying, those who don't learn from history are doomed to make things worse. History shows us that government spending does not fix economic problems. If spending was the key to a robust and sound economy, the U.S…

Today marks the 78th anniversary of perhaps the most disastrous economic legislation in our Nation's history, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1928. It set off a chain reaction of retaliatory tariffs that caused a sharp decline in global…

Now that the Colombia trade agreement is before Congress, I hope that all Members will weigh its benefits carefully and approve it with a strong bipartisan up-or-down vote. The United States is the largest manufacturer and exporter in the…

The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement means growth and more jobs for the largest exporter and manufacturing nation in the world, the United States. Colombia already gets free access to our market. The agreement levels the playing…

With the carveout, I noticed that we are taxing those American companies producing in the United States.

Unless Congress acts, in 3 short years capital gains taxes will jump from 15 percent to 20 percent. Tax increases, as Democrats would allow, send the wrong messages to businesses facing economic uncertainty. But what does this mean for…

Today's economic debate should focus on big picture tax policies that emphasize sustained prosperity for American workers and their families. A one-time, consumption-driven stimulus may be popular, but what we really need is tax relief…

This bill is the wrong policy for tax-paying families. PAYGO budgeting has put Congress in a straitjacket even on this temporary fix to the alternative minimum tax which was never intended to ensnare 23 million middle-income workers. In…

When our constituents tell us to ``do something'' about gas prices, they don't mean ``Make them higher.'' This bill has some attractive elements, but they're overwhelmingly weighed down by bad policy, creative accounting and tax increases…

That tax increase could go as high as $3,800, and talking about average families.

All of us support SCHIP and we all want to reauthorize it, but we need to put low-income kids first. This bill would expand the program to families making more than $60,000 a year. That is not low income. It is a majority of the households…

I have come today not to criticize any of the choices they have made but, rather, to offer what I believe, Mr. Chairman, is a very straightforward and relatively simple amendment.

Again I thank the chairman for that clarification. Further, while I believe it would be inappropriate for those of us in Congress to micromanage the efforts of law enforcement as they work to dismantle these illegal drug networks by…

I thank the chairman and greatly appreciate his efforts and the efforts of Ranking Member Tiahrt to improve public safety on Federal recreation lands. Is it the committee's intention in granting this increase to ensure that these funds…

I recently served on the Budget Committee for 8 years, during which time we had the only four balanced budgets in recent history. I am sad to see, however, that today's budget envisions what could amount to the largest tax increase in…

If gasoline prices are bad, natural gas prices are even worse. The price of this fuel has tripled over the last six years. This dramatic increase is hurting my constituents in Northern California who rely on natural gas for heating and…

I thank the chairman. As you know, Mr. Chairman, a terrible situation occurred in my district in Northern California several years ago where a levee that protects one of the communities I represent had deteriorated to such a point that the…

Again I thank the gentleman. You brought up the agreement of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, with Canada and with Mexico. And again, it was so tongue-in-cheek, it was so detrimental that we more than doubled our trade to…

Well, obviously, it does not help our trade deficit; it makes it worse. As the gentleman is pointing out, if we lose that, and the gentleman has pointed this out, there are other countries that are seeking to take these markets. China is…

The Republic reauthorization bills passed by the House in 2002 and 2003 were more 'bipartisan' than two out of three welfare bills considered in the mid-1990s. During the 1990s, the vast majority of House Democrats OPPOSED welfare reform…

Mr. Chairman, just to respond, it is important that we move now. We had more than 20 hearings on this legislation last year. The legislation actually expired September 30 of 2002. We are now 6 months on life support. The gentleman from…

I rise in support of H.R. 5063, as amended. This bill would temporarily extend unemployment benefits for an additional 5 weeks. It also will extend the funding and rules for the Nation's welfare reform program through March 31, 2003…