Barney Frank

I want to call attention to an amendment which the majority refused to allow. When Members have come forward... They will not allow that amendment. They will not allow even a vote on that.

My friend from Florida, who has been very responsible here, has one error in his reasoning. He keeps averring to the fact that the public in their referenda rejected this. But the public in their referenda have generally voted for 6 years…

First I was interested to hear my friend say that he was going to vote on this contrary to his philosophy. That is a precedent in his case I would urge him to follow more often. I think that would have a good effect on the body. But beyond…

I just want to point out, if we are going to debate this, let us do it. The provisions we are talking about do not just deal with illegal immigrants but the medical and other benefits that do to legal immigrants. If we are going to ask…

It is a good sign that they are uncomfortable when it is described accurately. It does not just say you go after the sponsor. If you are a legal immigrant and you are treated, you can be deported for it. It becomes a deportable offense to…

The bill does not say that legal immigrants can get AIDS treatment and illegal cannot. It gives disabilities to both of them for getting it with Federal funds. Anybody who can pay for it on their own the bill does not affect. The bill says…

I do not claim to be a crusader for States rights. I have the position I think most Members have. I am for the State or the Federal Government deciding where we will best get the outcome that I think public policy ought to have.

If the gentleman's interpretation, I mean this seriously, if the gentleman's interpretation of Romer versus Evans is correct, and we do not know whether it is or not, would that not also apply then to the section here? In other words, if…

Reclaiming my time, one point on legislative debate, when people use arguments they do not really mean, that is an indicator. The gentleman from Wisconsin made a big point of saying, we cannot do it if Hawaii does it by court, if they do…

I would say, as someone who has been included in this denunciatory rhetoric, that I would be very satisfied to have people in forming their judgment listen to the words uttered by the gentleman from Oklahoma, and listen to the words of my…

I agree that we should not allow people who are here illegally, want to be here illegally, and I voted for even tougher enforcement, but I am concerned about unjust enrichment of unscrupulous employers...by penalizing the illegal alien…

I am sorry to interrupt this praise, but I have to differ with my friend. Tell me that we need the money for the space station and therefore cannot afford to put it here, and I will disagree. But it seems to me that is within the realm of…

I would agree. Let me just say in closing that this amendment, if it is defeated, is one more sign that compassion, that concern for helpless, innocent children has simply gone politically out of fashion. We will be inflicting, if we…

I would correct the gentleman on one thing. Remember, when we take programs for the poor and we do not keep them up with inflation, that is not a cut, that is an increase. It is only a cut when we fail to give an inflationary increase for…

They noted that the Catholic Church is, by far, the largest provider of private charity in the United States. Based on that experience, and out of the compassion and concern for social justice that motivates them to do that, they repudiate…

I am struck by how we are told that cutting $1.8 billion could cause such havoc. The appropriations subcommittee underestimated its own skill. They were just told by the Committee on the Budget cut $700 million and they did it fairly…

I do not believe it was an honest error. I believe they figured out a game. The central point I want to make is this, and I am not for hanging anyone, but the fact that an agency was able to accumulate a surplus greater than 10 percent of…

I say to the gentleman, continue this trend of ever-increasing appropriations and authorizations for this agency, even when they have shown it is excessive by building up these surpluses, and you mandate deeper cuts in the environment and…

They just lost $2 billion? With their satellites they could not find $2 billion?

My point was, and I must say I am again unreassured that these crack intelligence people who are so terrific cannot keep track of the money. I will say, in fairness to them, I do not think this was lousy accounting, I think this was…

I must tell my friend from Texas I am less reassured by that than I might have been, given the fact that after we passed that conference report and it was signed into law, the unobligated, unaccounted for secret surplus went from $2…

I support the gentleman, but I begin to get second thoughts because maybe we have found a way to really cut the deficit. This hidden money that we lost track of started out at a billion. Then within a couple of months it was $2 billion…

Yes. And under the amendment of the gentleman from New York, what he says is this. He said it in his argument: If we limit the housing authority to 30 percent we are saying, ``Take any factors you want into consideration, geography…

I want to try to reach some agreement here. The point is this: By the gentleman's own chart he is acknowledging, by his choice of a date, that when the Brooke amendment was simply a cap and not a floor, it did not have that negative…

In fact what happened was the gentleman from New York [Mr. Hinchey] had two separate amendments, and they only stole one. They forgot to steal them both. So the gentleman only took half of Hinchey; he got a ``Hinch'' but no ``E'' here. So…