Thomas Massie

Section 5 remains overly broad. The former Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office told me as early as yesterday that we are playing with fire with section 5. That is why I urge my colleagues to oppose section 5 and to…

I am scheduled to speak at two of these robotic contests in Kentucky this weekend, not to inspire these kids to be politicians, but to inspire them to be inventors. Should this bill pass, should we kick the ladder out from our young…

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Kentucky will be postponed. Amendment No. 5 Offered by Ms. Jackson Lee The Acting CHAIR. It…

I want to briefly tell you about a young boy who grew up in modest surroundings in rural Kentucky. Although he had no money, he was inspired to invent. So he collected junk to build his inventions--broken clocks, radios, vacuum cleaners…

I have an amendment at the desk. The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Strike section 5, redesignate subsequent sections, and amend the table of contents accordingly. The CHAIR…

Section 5 of this bill shares a common defect with the rest of this bill. Although well-intentioned, it will have bad effects on our patent law. In fact, it will affect legitimate patent-holders as much or worse than it would patent…

residents of rural areas, like myself, who rely on wood heat as an affordable, abundant, renewable, and you will like this, carbon neutral source of heat energy, are perpetually perplexed by the EPA's fascination with regulating this form…

You realize that is going to be perceived that way if you don't hold these hearings?

you can promise us today that if Americans like the wood stove they have, they can keep it, period?

Today I rise in support of H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. I am proud to cosponsor this bill. Kentucky's Fourth District is home to 276 miles of the Ohio River and three locks and dams. As such, we are…

I appreciate you organizing this hearing. I think among all the congressmen, you are probably the most qualified to cover this issue given your service in the military, and also in the health care profession.

I want to thank you for your work on the recent bill, the first appropriations bill that we passed, reallocating priorities so that we can try and get rid of the backlog in the VA filings, and that did pass the House of Representatives.

I thank the gentleman from Arkansas. To allay your concerns and the concerns of the gentlelady who spoke, the intentions are the intentions that have been mentioned here, and the verbiage that was allowed in the amendment process was very…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of the bill (before the short title), add the following: Sec. _. No funds made available by this…

There's been some misunderstanding about what my amendment does. I welcome the opportunity to clarify the intention of the amendment. I realize that Members of the House have different views about the current U.S. relationship with the…

I appreciate the words from my good colleague from Arkansas, and I certainly appreciate the service that he's provided to our country and the service that others have provided there in the mission of keeping the peace. If we count the two…

I'd like to talk about some of the legal products that you can buy in the United States that are made with hemp. You can buy paper, clothes, rope, food, hundreds of products. Even car panels are made out of hemp. But the great tragedy is…

When Social Security numbers were created, they were ostensibly to tract retirement benefits but now you need a Social Security number...

I thank the gentleman from Florida for sharing that with us. I think all too often we don't listen as much to our constituents as we should; and on this issue, it's very important because those are in fact the people who are going to bear…

I would like to remind my colleagues that Mr. Daines represents the great State of Montana, which operates with a lean government and has, so far, got by without a sales tax. That's the great thing about these United States of America. We…

Well, those comments bring up a very good point, and so do your comments. If this is a finger on the scale for higher taxes, States get to arbitrate and decide what gets taxed in their State. So right now we have exemptions for farm…

Thank you to the gentleman from Florida. He makes an excellent point on the sales tax audit burden on small businesses. I'd like to give you two examples of companies in my district. These are, literally, mom-and-pop shops. One of them…

We are the greatest country in the world, and we left people there, Mr. Hicks and Mr. Stevens, to essentially fend for themselves.

But I submit to you we have three very good men here who are going beyond the call of duty to come here and testify today.

When a department or an agency can't or doesn't give a straight answer to the press or the American public and the American public becomes frustrated, it is the mission of this committee to get the answers, and know in unambiguous terms…