in the next hour this House will have a clear choice. It is a choice between America's veterans versus tobacco companies. It is a choice between veterans versus partisanship. As someone who represents over 40,000 Army soldiers and 60,000…

Does he feel it is fair to require Members of this body to choose between their religious faith and their responsibility? I believe I have a right to ask this. I think this is a very serious issue.

I grew up in a country that said Hispanic Americans could die for their country but not be buried in a public cemetery. I grew up in a community where Hispanic schoolchildren were punished for speaking their mother's native language on…

every morning we come to this House floor, turn to the American flag, and with hand over heart finish our Nation's Pledge of Allegiance to our flag with these words, ``with liberty and justice for all.'' Now, Mr. Chairman, is the time for…

if there is any principle that Republican- Democratic Members of Congress should be able to agree upon, it is that no outside person should be allowed to walk onto this floor and verbally attack in crude vulgar language any Member of this…

the gentleman and I are cochairs of the Impact Aid Coalition. We worked hard to build a bipartisan effort. Yet when this amendment was put together, our coalition never met. Most Members I have talked to did not hear from the gentleman. I…

I think more eloquent than anything I can say, Mr. Chairman, is the fact that this amendment, that is proposed to supposedly help impact aid, has drawn opposition from some of the strongest supporters of impact aid in this Congress. I know…

I only wish life were so simple. We pass the Istook amendment and magically parents and teenagers communicate on all personal issues. Teenagers stop having sex and dysfunctional families become close. Would it not be nice? I do not mind if…

I represent the largest populated Army installation in America, cochair the House Army Caucus, and in my opinion the Army does not need this job. The Army does not want this job, the Army cannot afford this job, and the Army should not…

I believe we could be more efficient in the way that we collect on those loans if we allowed qualified private sector firms to contract out for these collections. This is a process being used effectively and efficiently by other Federal…

I believe there should be two goals that drive any budget plan in this Congress. One is balancing the budget in the short-term and in the long-term, and second is fairness. I believe that anyone that looks at the Republican proposal as of…

I strongly oppose late-term abortions, but I believe that when the mother's life or health are at risk, that choice should be made by a woman and her physician and not by the Federal Government. Mr. Speaker, what the American people do not…

when I first voted on this bill in November of 1995, I agonized about it, because my wife was pregnant, 8 months pregnant with our first child, a child that I had prayed and hoped for. Fortunately, that baby was born and is today the joy…

I want to bring civility to this House. But I must in all honesty say to my friend from Texas that, as the Representative that covered or represented the people of the Waco area to whom the Branch Davidian tragedy is a very deep and…

in my 5 years at this House I have very rarely come to the well of this great body to criticize the comments of one of my colleagues. I have great respect for the bipartisan and diverse views of all Members of this House, and their right…

I oppose public funding of abortion, but I strongly support House Joint Resolution 36 because this is not about funding abortions. That is prohibited, clearly, in the law. This issue is about saving children. Sadly, there are millions of…

Term limits is an idea whose time has come and gone. It is a feel-good constitutional amendment that does not belong in that cherished document. Term limits is a simplistic solution to the complex challenge of making our Federal Government…

when this bill first came to the House floor, my wife was 8 months pregnant with our very first child. We were soon blessed to have a healthy baby who turned 9 months old yesterday. Our son is love of my wife's life and my life. He is the…

if that happens anywhere at any time, if these Members of the House, including the one that just spoke, would work with us to pass a bill, we could put into law in the next few weeks, we could stop it from happening. But for anyone to…

Mr. Speaker, I find it ironic that some of the very people that will speak out in behalf of this English-only bill today are the very people who just a few weeks ago voted to cut education programs that helped young American schoolchildren…

because of our Nation's veterans, America won the cold war; because of our Nation's veterans, today we are the superpower in the world; and because of them our children today live in a safer world. This bill, H.R. 3118, is an effort, a…

each morning Members of this House with hand over heart turn to this flag and give a pledge: One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. In a few moments with our votes we will decide whether justice for all is…

H.R. 3643, as amended, is an omnibus health care bill which tackles a broad spectrum of issues affecting special veteran populations--women, veterans exposed to toxic and hazardous substances, and veterans suffering with chronic mental…

star wars is the Freddie Krueger of defense. It simply will not die. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is very simple. If Members oppose star wars, vote ``yes'' on this amendment. If they want to revive star wars, an ill-fated taxpayer…

I am kind of curious what happened tonight to the House Republican voices who have been saying all week that it is wrong to pass a budget that increases the deficit over the next 2 years. Since those voices have gone silent tonight on the…