Cliff Stearns

my colleagues, the Senate gave overwhelming unanimous consent for General Petraeus to implement his strategy in Iraq. We all agree, on both sides of the aisle, he is the best we have. In fact, he has written a manual dealing with…

many in Congress and around this country insist that the President take the advice of The Iraq Study Group. Well, the President is doing just that. The report states, ``We could, however, support a short-term redeployment or surge of…

Let me also congratulate the authors of the bill and the fine work that they have done. We have had a hearing in Energy and Commerce, where I serve, but I thought I would just follow up a little bit on what the gentleman from Louisiana…

it is 6 years after 9/11, and reform of the intelligence community continues to be a primary concern for all of us. At the swearing-in ceremony of Director Mike McConnell, President Bush outlined three main categories for improvement: the…

as we continue to mourn the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech, we are reminded once again how fragile life is. Notwithstanding this tragedy, I would like to take a short moment to acknowledge the accomplishments of the University of Florida…

last week the Energy and Commerce Committee marked up H.R. 493, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Two other committees of jurisdiction have also voted on this same bill. Many people have been remarking that we have been working…

Members of the House, Senate and the media should obviously be aware that Iran, a neighbor that shares decades of vibrant history with Iraq, is heavily involved in shaping the future of Iraq through illegal activities. The president of the…

on September 19, 2002, in a Wall Street Journal editorial, former CIA Director James Woolsey described the central challenge we face in the global war on terrorism as the United States' dependence on imported oil. My colleagues, this…

the recent reports of substandard conditions at the outpatient facility at Walter Reed Medical Center are deeply disturbing. The brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our country do not deserve the shoddy…

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My colleagues, here is a quote from a Newsweek article: ``There are ominous signs that the Earth's weather patterns have begun to change dramatically, and that these changes may portend a drastic decline in food…

today we vote on a bill that quite frankly hurts American workers. The derisively named ``Employee Free Choice Act'' removes employees' choice in choosing to organize by having them reveal their vote on an authorization card, under the…

When General Petraeus was unanimously supported by the Senate, it was with the idea that he would bring his new thoughts, his new strategy to this plan in Iraq. So don't you think, as members of this body, we should give General Petraeus…

it is with sorrow, yet fondness, that I speak on the passing of our colleague and friend, Charlie Norwood. While in Congress, his dedication to Georgians, to patient advocacy, to business ownership and property rights, and to veterans are…

this weekend, a deadly tornado inflicted enormous damage in my Congressional district. Yet even in the darkest times, the victims of the storm were enveloped in the incredible generosity of its neighbors. By Saturday, over 1,400 volunteers…

two weeks ago the House passed a bill to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate with drug companies on the prices of pharmaceuticals for the part D drug program, H.R. 4 was the bill. In my district, I have heard…

this Saturday tens of thousands of protesters protested on the National Mall the war on Iraq, and in particular, the 21,500 troop surge. These Americans exercised their first amendment right, and indeed, I am grateful to live in a Nation…

Yesterday there was a pro-life rally here in Washington, DC. In fact, the 22nd annual rally. I thought I would take a moment and talk about some of the innovations involved with ultrasound equipment which is very beneficial for women who…

recently the Speaker has indicated that she intends to appoint a special task force, a select committee, to investigate global warming. The committee I serve on, Energy and Commerce, has jurisdiction on this matter and, in fact, we have…

Today Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Jose Compean turned themselves in to begin serving their 11- and 12-year prison terms. Now, what was their crime? Shooting a habitual drug smuggler after he evaded law enforcement, attacked one of the…

I also rise to praise the University of Florida, the Gators, for not only winning their second football national title but on their many off-the-field accomplishments as well. With their 41-14 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes, the…

yesterday the Venezuelan president invoked Fidel Castro as the premier socialist model which, in his theory, is the economic model for not only Venezuela but the entire world. Mr. Speaker, my observation about his speech is that it…

It is never, never, justifiable to deliberately end the life, especially when there are alternative sources of stem cells that do no harm. Proponents of embryonic stem cells state the greatest advantage is the pluripotency of these cells…

H.R. 1, the ``Fully Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act,'' does not achieve what it advertises. In fact, in many cases, it inhibits our Nation's ability to secure our citizens against attack. This bill neglects to address…

on November 16 of this year, America and the world lost not only a brilliant economist but a towering giant of an unbounded vision for freedom. Dr. Friedman was widely recognized worldwide for his economic explanations and philosophies of…

Hugo Chavez, dictator of Venezuela, gave a speech at the United Nations last week in which he lambasted the United States and denigrated President Bush. Chavez is little more than a comical autocrat on an anti-American public relations…