Cliff Stearns

today I reflect on some of the recent elections held in other countries. While citizens of other countries may have different values about the level of government intervention in areas, let us say in economics or labor rights…

the Medicare trustees have reported that the Medicare trust fund is in trouble. Imagine what would happen if the Democrat minority had successfully passed their bill. The reforms that we passed to preserve the life of the Medicare system…

Iraq was a country that had the capabilities in weapons of mass destruction areas and in which terrorists, like ants to honey, were going after it. We found that the Iraqi government, particularly Saddam Hussein and his senior leadership…

last week the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, gave some seniors all over the country a little bit of a scare. But his suggestion that Congress should consider reducing Social Security benefits for future retirees was just…

I am here to sort of elaborate on David Kay's comments dealing with weapons of mass destruction. He is a chief weapons of mass destruction hunter for the United States and he resigned recently, but he made some very interesting statements…

With our Nation's dedication to homeland security after the horrors of September 11, most citizens believe today that it is time to strengthen, secure our borders and reform our immigration policies. It appears that some type of reforms…

with each passing day, the President's critics become more emboldened in their attacks on what they decry as a misleading impetus to go to war. According to the information they are able to ascertain from 24-hour news channels and the New…

last week brought the American taxpayers some good news. Whether it was in the USA Today newspaper, Associated Press stories, the New York Times or the Washington Post, they all said pretty much the same thing. The U.S. economy grew at a…

I enthusiastically rise in support of H.R. 1516, and I am especially pleased we are going to have a national cemetery finally in Jacksonville, Florida. This is in the northeast central Florida corridor where we have a high military…

with national security foremost on the minds of the American people, there is one thing we can do to simultaneously protect our shores and boost the economy: quickly approve a comprehensive energy plan. With the President's support, the…

I wanted to rise today and join my colleagues from the Florida Delegation in commending the World Champion Florida Marlins. It was your classic Cinderella story in which the Marlins knocked out the heavily favored Yankees in a comeback…

we have heard much in the press regarding weapons of mass destruction and the former Iraqi regime. I think it is important to note that both the Clinton and Bush administrations realized the powerful capacity for terror that Saddam Hussein…

I rise in support of the Pence amendment. Despite the arguments that we have heard against the use of these loans, we need to reinforce the point that the taxpayers of this country should not be required to foot the entire bill for Iraq…

I stand today to recognize and welcome the return of the last group of the 202nd RED HORSE Squadron, Florida's Air National Guard engineer unit. They are headquartered at Camp Blanding, which is in my congressional district. The remaining…

as we debate the Presidential supplemental request for Iraq, one point I do want to address is the idea of placing some of the requested funds for reconstruction to Iraq in the form of a loan. I believe it is possible to do this…

the President has issued a supplemental appropriation request for $87 billion to go towards our continuing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Wall Street Journal recently tallied the cost to our country and the economy from the 9-11…

I obviously rise in support of H.R. 1260, the Animal Drug User Fee Act. By funding more FDA drug reviewers, Mr. Speaker, this act will help accelerate approval of important veterinarian drugs, resulting in the comfort and treatment of…

we will soon be asked to provide an additional $87 billion in order to continue our efforts abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, many, as you just heard, are complaining about the costs in Iraq and the billions that will be needed to…

I do not think we should forget the amazing deeds that our troops are doing every day. Major combat has ended, and there are still terrorists at work in the country, but a powerful tyrannical regime has fallen, and, of course, it will take…

just as freedom and liberty are interwoven into the very fabric of our Nation, so too is the American pastime of volunteering. Recently, AmeriCorps' backers have been seeking an additional $100 million in supplemental funding, but I…

hours before President Bush's speech Sunday night, the top U.S. commander in Iraq summed up in a single sentence the importance of creating a free and democratic Iraq. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez said, ``The only way we will fail in…

good morning. I have got some good news. Perhaps a lot of the Members do not know about it. There has been a CBO update. The economy now seems poised for a more sustained recovery with CBO estimating growth of nearly 4 percent in the year…

I think the point of my amendment is not to discredit any one government agency but just to set priorities here and say that the amount of research increase in dollars in the VA is very small. And so I am just in a very small way asking my…

I might just read from the committee's report itself: "The committee is completely frustrated at the financial situation created by the lack of financial and grant program accountability at the corporation, even after years of providing…

It transfers 5 percent of the fiscal year 2004 funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service's AmeriCorps grants to the Veterans Health Administration, Medical and Prosthetic Research. I think, Mr. Chairman, I would…