H.R. 2108 is a straightforward bill which allows the District of Columbia to move forward on two very important economic development projects--the MCI arena at Gallery Place and a new convention center. These projects will provide…

Anyone who drives a car in Washington, DC, knows that this city needs highway money. Practically every street and highway in this town has potholes or broken pavement. Many of the bridges are in dire need of repair or replacement. It seems…

Mr. Chairman, this amendment requires that the Directors of the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget to submit a joint report to the Congress analyzing the costs and benefits of proposals to abolish or…

I want to once again congratulate Chairman Clinger for shepherding yet another bill through both bodies and being able to send it on to the President for signature. The House action has really succeeded in this with the following: We are…

I rise to sound the alarm against a huge tax hike on 2 million Americans that has been slipped into H.R. 1215, the package of tax reforms that will be considered on this floor today. Here are the facts: Fact: The rule governing today's tax…

this emergency legislation is the cornerstone of our Nation's response to the tragic and completely unacceptable financial condition of our Nation's Capital. Life in Washington, DC, is coming apart at the seams. This legislation will halt…

I would just want to say I want to support the amendment offered by the gentleman from Florida. I have been in local government for 15 years. During that time I have sat through hundreds of zoning cases, literally hundreds of condemnation…

let me just put into perspective to my friends, I think we are all for property rights. My affairs in local government overturned one of the largest downzonings in northern Virginia history that took away property rights. It is the basis…

The answer is that instead of the small parcel which could be covered under the existing legislation, a 10 percent diminution of that, that this is the entire property.

I supported the Goss amendment, which took the 10 percent threshold to 30 percent. This moves it to 20 percent, but it is much more reasonable. I have been in local government for 15 years, and I have sat through hundreds of zoning cases…

today we will continue to consider the most critical element in the contract's anticrime bill regarding block grants. The choice before us is a simple one. Who are the most effective crime fighters? The Washington politicians or our local…

Let me state my concern to the gentleman and see if he can help and tell us what happens when you pork up some of these bills. I will take the grant to Lamar University last year in the crime bill, which I think Americans looked at and…

I, too, am uncomfortable about the two-thirds in both Houses having to override. That is a tremendous transfer of power from the legislative to the executive branch. But as I read the gentleman's amendment, in this particular case it…

I am still uncomfortable with either House being able to overturn the President, but I understand the thrust of this.

So in effect if one House approves the rescission but the other House does not, in effect one House can kill the rescission?

I understand that, but to get the principle once again, that was money that in point of fact both Houses would not have passed initially. It would not have passed muster. Under this, if it passed muster in only one House, it would survive…

I think the committee reports are going to amplify what the benefits are as they traditionally have done. That will be available to the Congress before they vote on it. What this bill does for the first time is it brings accountability as…

Mr. Chairman, I would concur with the gentleman's statement. There is a standard of reasonableness built into this bill in terms of the agencies being able to gather and make the reports.

Mr. Chairman, first of all by defeating this amendment, we do not affect in any way the current law and current regulations affecting lead paint or asbestos. Those regulations, those rules, stay intact. This amendment does not even…

under this bill the Congress will still have the authority to pass the legislation that the gentleman from Pennsylvania wants. We still have that authority. We have not given that up at all. We will simply have the cost in front of us…

I think the frustration here is that no one wants to deny any Member the opportunity to offer an amendment. It is just that with the debate on some of these amendments, we are hearing the same arguments on our side in terms of not opening…

again, the frustration. Everything, every amendment that comes up, is an emergency, it is a crisis. It is something that this bill is somehow going to take away the flexibility of this body or the regulators to address. I just do not think…

I would like the gentleman to respond to a couple of concerns that I have. First of all, it is my understanding that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervisor have never issued safety and soundness…

We would still have that option, but we would have the costs in front of us and identified before we could act on that instead of being automatic. This is not a no-money-no-mandates bill. There may be an amendment offered to that later…

I rise on behalf of the committee to oppose this bill and move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, for reasons that we have opposed other amendments to this section, we would oppose this amendment at all. I think we are all against rape…