Mark Souder

I wanted to respond to two of my good friends, first my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Paul]. He is one of the most consistent Members I have ever met in Congress. As a Libertarian he does not believe in Federal job…

I realize the election is over, but just because an election ended our drug war should not end. The battles against illegal drugs should go on. I am very concerned that the President of the United States, who had backed away and we put a…

I met earlier today with Michael Larrance from Hamilton High School in my district who is out here for the conference. He has formed a group at his high school of students who are committed not only to trying to combat alcohol abuse but…

I wanted to reinforce that point as we look at the heroin problem and what can become a rogue nation when one nation starts to legalize heroin and how it can move. I know you have been in Asia and I was in Thailand as well, and in the…

I wanted to again point out that this is not something new. Interesting historical footnote: My first job here in Washington was Republican staff director of the Children Family Committee in Washington, and when the gentleman from Illinois…

we have an important vote coming up today on decertification of Mexico, and this is not a battle over whether we are friends or not friends. Like it or not in Mexico and like it or not in America, we are going to have to work together like…

it is important in the decertification process that we not only look toward the future but, indeed, that whole process has to look somewhat toward the past as well, not only on what Mexico has been doing but acknowledging in the Hastert…

I want to first say, as the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf] said, that I believe there is a role for international family planning, and as we look around the world we can see that need. I strongly have concerns about the fungibility and…

As the gentleman alluded to, it is a very pro-family policy to try to be honest about this, because most families in America have both parents working. Many of us, including me, have a child in college. You are trying to meet all the…

Many of the themes that we have in community involvement and individual involvement to see a small size city owned by many people and the commitment to that in this day and age of transient commitments and that type of thing is very…

There are other things compounding this as well, and correct me and add to this if you have additional information, and that is that people are living longer than originally projected in Social Security. Furthermore, the longer you live…

the reason there is a surplus is because there are more people paying in now, but we are headed to a point down the road here where there is not going to be enough money and we will have a big shortfall.

Last year we even had a debate here on the House floor because there was a proposal that in the private pension programs from business, to lower the percent of, I think it was 145 percent down to 125 percent. Some of us had grave…

In addition, and this is really good straight talk about the budget because these issues get so confusing, and from time to time we need to have some of this kind of stuff because part of the goal of politicians often is to confuse…

I am not sure at what point, perhaps the gentleman would know this more, but as I have heard, there is a point out here where the FICA tax alone could be around 43 percent, depending on where the shortfall is. This is not just a small…

I believe every business that can pay more should absolutely pay more. There are many small businesses that are closed that used to pay less, and they cannot make it. That is really what I am talking about. I would have liked to have seen…

I believe that in actuality that the increase in the minimum wage will hurt those who least can afford to be hurt. I know in inner-city Fort Wayne we have been trying to get a grocery store to relocate back there. We lost all the major…

first off I want to congratulate the gentleman from New York [Mr. Walsh] and the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Davis] also in the authorizing committee, for their hard work. Washington, DC, is our national Capital. It is seen across this…

the second point I was going to make is that on the 1.9 percent amendment, it has been very interesting, because if this was the only bill where we heard that a 1.9 percent across the board cut in this department would devastate a…

I will hope that many, as some have on the Democratic side who say that they are for balancing the budget, will vote with those of us who have been trying to promote the 1.9 percent, because a 1.9 percent reduction on every appropriations…

I want to first comment briefly on the question of veterans benefits. Should this amendment pass, I would be more than willing, as I am sure many others would, to look at how to transfer money into veterans medical inside this bill from…

I rise to commend those in my district who today are celebrating Juneteenth Day, marking the freedom of the last known slaves on June 19, 1865, almost 22 years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and 65 days after…

Saturday was a historic day in America, well, at least in Indiana or at least in my house, because my daughter graduated from high school and it was a big event. I do not feel like I should have a daughter graduating from high school. It…

First, as a small businessman, Mr. Speaker, I would like to compliment the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Goodling], and the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Fawell], on the actual…

I wanted to thank Mr. Zeliff, the chairman of the subcommittee, for raising the issue of the drug war and the battle that we need to do, because we had abandoned it for some time, and say what a privilege it has been to work on his…