it has been an honor to have been the sponsor of H.R. 3538, as well as the two previous pieces of legislation honoring three fallen war heroes from my State of Illinois. This legislation, H.R. 3538, the Marine Capt. Ryan Beaupre Saint Anne…

I asked for this time today because I felt as we finish up the month of February, Black History Month, it would be appropriate for this body to take a step back into history and remember the pioneering African American Members of this body…

this is historic legislation tonight. Again, we make another positive step forward in modernizing Medicare, a process we have been working on every year the nine years that I have served in the House of Representatives. I am proud that a…

we have had some good news since July. We have seen 286,000 new jobs created as a result of the Jobs and Economic Growth Act that was signed into law in May. That is good news; and really, this legislation we have before us today is…

on behalf of the majority in the Congress, I take the well this evening to, of course, celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, to celebrate the independence day for our Central American allies. It is my privilege to be before the House of…

let me first indicate my strong support for this trade agreement with our friend and ally, the nation of Chile, a longtime democracy, a longtime ally; and clearly, I am one who believes that if you believe in freedom and democracy, you…

I look around this room today and I see friends on both sides of the aisle. On my committee I have friends that are Democrats and friends that are Republicans, and I think no one wishes we were going through this exercise today. But as one…

Tonight is all about politics. I remember when I was elected in the class of 1994 I campaigned on creating the child tax credit which was a centerpiece of what was called the Contract with America at the time. And I remember many of those…

What does it mean that we are modernizing Medicare for the 21st century? What does it mean that we are investing $400 billion in modernizing Medicare with prescription drugs? When I think of prescription drug coverage, I think of the…

let us take a few minutes here and actually focus on the legislation before us today because those who represent 21 States may want to pay very close attention to the legislative proposal that the Democratic side is offering as a…

The All-American Tax Relief Act provides immediate tax relief for working families and for our military. Immediate tax relief. It does it in a number of ways. A tremendous benefit to working and military families. In fact, not only do we…

I would really like today to take a few minutes to celebrate the enactment into law of the Jobs and Economic Growth Package legislation that was passed by a majority of this House and a majority of the Senate and signed into law just 2…

As Americans, we owe the men and women who serve our Nation a great debt of gratitude, and that is why I rise in strong support of H.R. 1954, the Armed Forces Naturalization Act of 2003. Many immigrants have proven their patriotism by…

42 million married couples got good news this past week when President Bush signed into law the jobs and economic growth package, legislation that wiped out the marriage tax penalty for 42 million married working couples this year. This is…

What this is all about is 1.2 million new jobs. Economists tell us that this plan will create 1.2 million new jobs over the next 18 months. How? By putting extra money in the pocketbooks of workers and giving incentives to invest in the…

I first begin by commending President Bush for his strong leadership on the economy. While so much of our Nation's attention, in fact attention around the globe, has been focused on President Bush's successful leadership as well as the…

first let me applaud and cheer the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) for their leadership in…

I rise today to honor the 140th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. On January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to grant freedom to…

Madam Speaker, on July 9, 2002, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5063, the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2002, by a unanimous bipartisan vote of 413 to 0. That legislation contained two important provisions that would restore…

Madam Speaker, this is important legislation. Our Nation is making very tough decisions and this Congress is making very tough decisions, and we have military men and women who are currently in combat in Afghanistan. This is important…

Mr. Speaker, we have had a lot of interesting arguments on the other side of the aisle. I would note that every one of them tries to distract from the issue that is before us today. The issue that is before us today is do we permanently…

Who are working and suffer the marriage tax penalty benefit under this legislation.

I come to the floor in anger and outrage about the corporate scandals that we have seen in the newspapers over the last several months. I am outraged about Enron, Martha Stewart's insider trading, Global Crossing and the other companies…

I am proud to say tonight we have an opportunity to provide prescription drug coverage under Medicare for our senior citizens. Tonight we are seeing an example of two different kinds of debate. Some people want to offer partisan rhetoric…

just a brief response to my friend from Ohio's partisan comments. It is always interesting that some will criticize campaign contributions, when their own party has solicited and accepted campaign contributions from the same industries or…