I come before you today to urge your continued support for the War on Terror. While there has been spirited debate in this Chamber during the past two days, the stakes are too high for us not to meet the obligations and responsibilities at…

this morning the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), Democratic leader, and I had the honor of bestowing on four of our former colleagues the Congressional Distinguished Service Award. The four honorees were John Rhodes of Arizona…

the hour is late. We have had a lot of rhetoric. We have had a lot of flailing of arms and pointing fingers across the aisle. It is time for us to come to a reasoned decision. It is time for us to look at all the debate that we have had…

I am somewhat amused in hearing some of the rhetoric here on the floor this afternoon. I hear words like ``reckless'' and ``abominable'' and big words; but when we talk about this, I do not hear the word ``fairness'' very often. We got…

Today the House opened with a prayer from our guest chaplain, Father Phil Kaim. Father Kaim is a newly ordained priest in the Rockford diocese in the State of Illinois. Father Kaim is also a close personal friend of mine and a former…

It has been an incredible debate. I sat and listened to the debate on both of the rules and then on the substance here, the substance of this budget debate tonight. I guess maybe the same IMF to whom we provide the funds that they can go…

there just aren't enough words to describe a man who has led such an adventurous, challenging, and courageous life as Sam Johnson. He is a decorated war hero, a distinguished public servant, and a dedicated husband, father, and…

This bill has been on the docket for about 6 weeks trying to bring it together. In this bill is $14 billion-plus for our men and women who fight the war in Afghanistan and around the world. In this bill is $5 billion for New York so that…

we hear a lot of rhetoric at times like this when we talk about taxes, when we talk about Social Security, when we talk about our future. But we need to also talk about promises and commitments that we make to people. The fact is, every…

I think today we have a bill that I hope we can vote for on both sides of the aisle. At least, that sounds like the debate that we have had. Two or 3 weeks ago, we had a bill on the floor that basically did the same thing. We also had…

to my colleagues on this side of the Chamber, and to my colleagues on this side of the Chamber, I first want to say that yesterday was an incredible day. It was an incredible debate. Reformers came to this Chamber. They changed some of the…

today, as we commemorate President Ronald Reagan's 91st birthday, we remember the significant impact he had on our lives here in America. When our country was struggling through the cold war and a suffering economy, he had the ability to…

first of all, this Congress has come through an extraordinary year, a year where a lot of us never thought that the challenges and problems and probably the grief that many Americans have faced we would have to deal with, but we did. I…

Mr. Speaker, it is always an honor to take this floor. It is an honor to have these debates because, let no one be fooled, this is one of the defining debates of this Congress. We talked about unemployed workers. We have seen 700,000…

I agree with the minority leader that we need to ensure that the safety net is strong and secure for all working Americans. And it is. Displaced workers need access to financial assistance as they work to get back on their feet. They have…

I rise today to share my grief and sorrow with the victims and the families of Tuesday's tragedies in New York, Washington and Western Pennsylvania. As a nation, we must stand strong together to denounce these cowardly acts of War against…

I first encountered Joe when I was a young Congressman and took an amendment up to the Committee on Rules. It was probably an ill-advised amendment, but Joe was very gentle and very kind and kind of let me know the errors of my way and was…

today, I would like to join with my colleagues in commending the American Football Coaches Association for providing parents with identification kits to locate children who are missing. In 1997, the American Football Coaches…

Let me just say that maybe we just ought to tone down our rhetoric this morning, because it is not a Republican victory nor is it a Democrat victory if this bill passes today. The American people win. The American people, who get up in the…

I want to thank Dick Gephardt for his gracious remarks. Dick Gephardt has been a great leader of the House Democrats. He has unified his Democrat Caucus over the last 2 years with unusual effectiveness. He has criss-crossed the Nation…

it is a great honor to be down here, not just as Speaker of the House, but I spent a great deal of time before I got into politics as a teacher. I taught economics and U.S. history and world history and sociology and government and all of…

here we are, finally, on the floor of this great House closing the debate on permanent normal trade relations with China. Before we move into the finality of this, I want to thank those who helped make this legislation possible. I have to…

Cardinal O'Connor will be missed by our entire nation. He was quietly courageous--unafraid to take positions that might not be popular, while always approaching people with dignity and humility. Earlier this year, Congress had the…

I rise today in respectful opposition to the amendment of the gentleman from Wisconsin. I want to speak in favor of U.S. assistance to the government of Colombia to fight the war on drugs. I do not take this well in a frivolous way. First…

I come to this well today following a long period of prayerful consideration. I want to talk to you about the choice of our next Chaplain, a man whose job it is to ask God's blessing on our work. When I became your Speaker last year, I…