Mr. Speaker, this motion would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to offer a Medicare prescription drug plan. There is no need for this type of government-run fallback because the House-passed legislation already guarantees…

What this Medicare bill does is set up at least at a minimum two coverage areas that would cover the cities, the suburban areas, and out to the rural areas. That way we bring in a bigger pool. But I will also say again $24.9 billion to…

The private sector already does manage the Medicare system. The private sector is already involved in Medicare. They have been doing the job now. They can do it again. If we mandate, as in our bill, that there would be two providers and…

last year we passed on this floor the ``kids.us'' site. President Bush signed this bill into law. It is a safe Internet site for kids. Now I call upon corporate America, nonprofits and governmental entities to put information on the…

yesterday we had the opportunity to hear Prime Minister Blair here in this Chamber; and I want to thank him for his straight talk, his compassion, his love of freedom, and the words he imparted to this Chamber. He spoke from the heart…

demand for natural gas is expected to rise by as much as 50 percent over the next 25 years. Currently the Nation's inventory of natural gas lags behind past inventories of the popular fuel, and rising demand illustrates the need for…

I rise today as co-chairman of the House Biotechnology Caucus in strong support of House Resolution 252. Approvals for biotech commodities are critical to the future of biotechnology. By filing a complaint with the WTO, the administration…

Here we are, about to end a year, and this is a tradition. Unfortunately, a lot of us have to go back to our district and will not be here for graduation. I know the class is having the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) speak. He…

In southern Illinois we still have some of those old water pumps. You crank that pump and sometimes you crank and crank and there is no water that comes out. So what do you have to do? You have to get water. You have to pour it down to…

I take this 5 minutes to talk about an historical trend in this country that ties together those who have come before us in the past and those who are serving today, and I speak about the long gray line and those individuals who have…

I too have a good friend from Ohio, but I would say the whole supply and demand equation still works. We are trying to get more supply through oil exploration. We have not built a new refinery in this country in 25, 30 years…

our constituents are concerned about gasoline price volatility. This energy bill addresses part of these concerns by promoting the use of domestic renewable fuels like ethanol. However, current regulations prohibit retailers from…

Mr. Speaker, Illinois and many other States have the ability to sign the back of their driver's license to give the gift of life, which is organ donation. That is in addition to the legislation that we have here on the floor today. I am…

Mr. Speaker, what I have before me is an emergency external defibrillator, and that is the purpose of the bill we have on the floor as we speak. It is an incredible device that saves lives, and that is what this legislation is a means to…

I am 44 years old; and although that is a short time of life, it has been a time of enormous changes. Yet there have been few things that have been consistent. One thing that has been consistent that I have observed in my life is a friend…

I appreciate my colleague's historical background. I am a relatively new Member still, in my sixth year, and I know there is a lot of water underneath the bridge on a lot of these issues, and it is always good to look back. He has been a…

Yes, Illinois has been hit hard. Illinois has had its fair share of deaths; and yes, we at the Federal level need to partner and assist our local responders. We need to move through this authorization, and, more importantly, work with the…

thank you, Jill Stanck. Jill is an obstetrical nurse at Christ Hospital in Illinois. After observing a child born alive after an abortion procedure and left to die, she became involved in righting this wrong through the legislative…

this bill makes several important changes that will honor our veterans. It rightfully expands eligibility requirements for burial at Arlington Cemetery. It also includes provisions from my bill, the ``Captain Jack Punches Memorial Act''…

since the Gulf War, pilots have been patrolling Iraqi skies keeping Saddam Hussein from killing his own people. This past weekend, Iraqi forces fired antiaircraft missiles at several of our aircraft. We responded in kind by shooting back…

84 percent, 84 percent, 84 percent of all Americans say that we need to pass a national energy plan. Why? They know that we must decrease our reliance on foreign oil. That means we need to keep our marginal wells, expand the use of…

I support this rule. We labored hard for over 25 hours in the Committee on Energy and Commerce... It increases payments to community hospitals. It increases DSH payments, adds a 10 percent increase to rural home health care agencies…

Mr. Speaker, we do have the best health care in the world, but it has problems, and it has challenges. Really one of the most frustrating things for me is to try to address how the Federal Government is a good or bad partner in all the…

It is tough to come down here in the caldron of the Ways and Means. I have good friends on both sides and I appreciate their diligence, but we have been lobbied on this legislation, and we have been lobbied by married families that have…

I thank my colleague. I have already mentioned Heather Wilson. I would be remiss not to mention Dale Kildee, who was on the Page Board and spent time, and just thank him for serving with me. Make sure you remember in the last couple hours…