David Skaggs

That this language never existed on paper until the Thursday before this 2-week break and has never been the subject of a hearing in any committee of the Congress, much less being marked up by the committee of jurisdiction, the Committee…

Here again, would the gentleman agree, this is the kind of discussion and debate that ought to have occurred in the Committee on the Judiciary, so we could have had appropriate refinements made to clear up what is a fundamental area of…

Let me just say, I believe the gentleman's recitation proves my point, because none of the examples that the gentleman cites for requiring supermajorities has anything to do with the presentment clause. None of those examples involves the…

Reclaiming my time, I beg to differ with the gentleman. The gentleman's proposed constitutional amendment talks about any increase in the internal revenues--it does not talk about Internal Revenue Code--the internal revenues by more than a…

So we are going to decide what we have done after we have already passed it. That is a terrific standing of things on their heads.

As the gentleman knows, if we put this in the Constitution, it is likely to be there for all time.

The gentleman is well aware that the then sitting Congresses were sharply divided and we could barely muster a majority vote to start the preparations that were ultimately necessary for this great Nation to fulfill its international…

Let me, if I may, pose another question to the gentleman about his language in this proposed amendment, and the gentleman from Virginia was touching on this. It provides that a majority could raise revenue either if there is a declared…

So it would not apply to the circumstance that the country endured for the better part of 40 years, namely, the cold war?

So if I understand this phrase correctly, if we were facing again that kind of dire threat to the national security but one that, God willing, does not get to the point of a shooting war, but nonetheless demanded the preparation of our…

You know, we look at history not just because it is fascinating to know where we have come from, but because it is also often instructive about the present and the future. And I think it is very useful to again go back to the debates in…

I would simply ask the distinguished Chairman of the Rules Committee, would it not have been proper and better procedure for this proposal to have at least had a hearing in the Committee on the Judiciary, so that the implications of these…

I believe in majority rule. I think it is dangerous when we give over power over a substantial responsibility of this Government to 34 Senators representing as few as 10 percent of the people. I am also pretty conservative about the way…

I want to focus briefly on one section of this conference report that's particularly important for Colorado and other western States where municipal water supply facilities are located on or above National Forest lands. During its…

Mr. Speaker, this is one of those occasions when every Member of this body should be mindful of the undertaking that we make at the beginning of every Congress to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, because the…

let me just say in concluding, I think there are a couple of things we can be sure of or at least we ought to allow to humble us. One is our inability to predict the future. Why in the world we would want to deprive our successors in the…

Let me suggest that we take the words of James Madison as a benediction to this particular discussion, and just quoting from the last part of Federalist Paper No. 58, Madison on this very point wrote as follows: "It has been said that more…

Well, as I mentioned a few minutes ago, and it may be worth just going through the list of those States whose Senators, if they happen to decide to coalesce in opposition because small States might be affected in some way or other, States…

I would just like to engage the gentleman for a moment in a further discussion of the short history that we have--I was going to say enjoyed, but at least experienced under the so-called three-fifths rule which was adopted at the start of…

Let me ask either the gentleman from Massachusetts or Virginia, one of the things that has been a regular topic of debate around here the last few months has been questions of corporate welfare, closing corporate tax loopholes. Will we be…

Has there ever been a case before this Congress when the Committee on the Judiciary completely failed to mark up a constitutional amendment?

I think we need to expound on this point a little bit more. Nobody here is interested in raising taxes per se. This is not about taxes, it is about the Constitution of the United States and having a workable system of government. The…

the House votes today on a bill to repeal the assault weapons ban, a political death wish in the most literal sense possible. Please think about what Dion, Ty, and Aaron would say about this. One night in 1993, these three high school…

Mr. Chairman, this is no trivial matter. Contrary to the representations made by the proponents of this, it will require all affected organizations, large and small, charitable and for-profit, to set up a new system of recordkeeping in…

Mr. Chairman, I just would inquire of the sponsor of this amendment, what business is it of the Federal Government whether Regis College in Denver, CO spends some of its funds lobbying Denver city council over a land-use matter? Why should…