Cliff Stearns

I rise in support of the Singapore Free Trade Agreement. As many of my colleagues know, I support free trade. I believe it must be fair trade. I voted in the past for some of these agreements, but this one I think is very good with…

I am concerned that a lot of our recent legislation will create even larger government programs. We face large deficits; yet we continue to spend, and I am concerned. Recently we had several amendments here on the House floor to reduce…

as our forces persevere in Iraq, working to stabilize and rebuild this country which has been devastated by a violent, oppressive regime for 35 years, we continue to be flooded in the press by charges of America being an imperialist…

I am grateful to the Rules Committee for making this amendment in order that I might take this opportunity to lend the support of Congress to the Office of Children's Issues who will now act as the central authority on the Hague Convention…

227 years ago 56 men put their lives, their families and fortunes on the line as they defied the most powerful country in the world, England. These men declared independence and our country was born by a swift stroke of a pen. This weekend…

what we have here is a plan that the Republicans have been on their knees trying to come up with to try and solve this problem. It is voluntary. It brings choice, everything that the Federal employees health benefit plan has, the same…

if the Democrats' plan is for $1 trillion and our is for $400 billion, we cannot say they offered a plan that met the budget requirements. I would like to ask the Democrats tonight: Do you have a plan that is under $400 billion like the…

this Congress has an unprecedented opportunity to give America's seniors an up-to-date Medicare system that includes more choices and better benefits like prescription drug coverage. Health care is being transformed by new drug therapies…

lately there has been a stir, a desperate grasp for press attention, to form an inquiry into the Bush administration's knowledge of weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Speaker, for 7 years following the Gulf War, Saddam claimed that he did…

As we return from recess to write and act on legislation for a Medicare prescription drug benefit, I am asking my colleagues and the American people to resist the temptation to succumb to price controls. This is perennial around here. A…

Mr. Speaker, in my home congressional district, I have the headquarters for the National Guard at Camp Blanding in North Central Florida; so I am well aware of the sacrifices these folks make when they go off to war. Interestingly enough…

Today opponents of the proposed ban on partial birth abortion will levy a great deal of unfair derision against those of us who will stand today to speak on behalf of the unborn. These same opponents repeatedly deny the terrible facts…

I am speaking on behalf of small businesses, owners and employees, in this time of economic downturn. The key to President Bush's economic package is to provide jobs to Americans who desire to work. The plan will provide a great boost to…

I am here to talk about a program called cash and counseling which allows flexibility for Medicaid, people who are poor, people who are disabled, gives them an opportunity to be involved and get more resources, and it is good for the…

I rise to applaud the accomplishments of a man from my hometown in Marion County, Florida, the Sixth Congressional District, because Tony Everard has been training horses in Marion County for over 35 years. He purchased a remarkable horse…

Today is World Asthma Day, and tomorrow is Asthma Awareness Day on Capitol Hill. I am co-chair along with the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns). Tomorrow I will be introducing legislation with the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr…

today in the Washington Times it was reported that France supplied Iraqi officials passports as they fled U.S. forces, this allegation coming on the heels of another report that French companies sold military spare parts to Iraq shortly…

I am here to congratulate General Tommy Franks, Chief of Military Operations, and our brave military forces. Of course, I also congratulate Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, General Myers, and of course, President Bush and the administration…

we are going to hear perhaps from the people on this side that we could have done more. Let me just say to my colleagues, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton), who is chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, had 35 hearings…

I rise against the Watt amendment. Local dealers or distributors are often sued simply to prevent removal of a case to a Federal court. Should trade associations be sued under conspiracy theories of industry behavior? I mean, that would…

H.R. 1036, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, addresses the growing concerns of junk lawsuits filed with the intention of driving the firearms industry out of business by simply attempting to hold manufacturers and dealers…

I have to be honest. I think what she is saying is praiseworthy, but the amendment is not necessary because we already have in the bill the language that is needed. We have used the words ``negligent entrustment,'' and this is a legal…

Mr. Chairman, the Watt amendment is attacking the words ``used as intended'', and he has sort of indicated that those words are vague and perhaps they should be deleted because the courts could not quite understand them. I have Black's Law…

Today I rise to support the actions of the world's greatest fighting force, the United States Armed Forces, which is currently about 360,000 men and women deployed overseas defending our freedom. Though the terrains may differ greatly…

I want to quote this morning from an article by Mona Charen, ``War and Psychology,'' in which she says: `` `War never solves anything.' So say dozens of callers to C-SPAN all day long and left-leaning radio programs.'' ``The answer to this…