Ben Cardin

I strongly support it. Pfiesteria is a very serious problem that we have all along the east coast of the United States. It is responsible for major fish kills, for the closing of recreational and commercial waterways, and it is a major…

Mr. Speaker, this will be the last opportunity that this House will have to reform the ethics process in a bipartisan manner. We have had a good debate on the floor. I think the issues have been well debated. I would hope that in the end…

This amendment does not take us back to status quo. It does not. Currently there are procedures for non-Members to file complaints. That is eliminated. The three-Member refusal is gone. The transmittal by a Member automatically is gone…

I understand the pressures the committee is under this year and particularly that the Park Service's fiscal year 1998 construction budget included two extremely high cost projects, but the Fort McHenry project is also a priority and is in…

It is interesting that that person actually pays over $2,700 in taxes and, if we put in the employer's share of FICA, pays over $4,500 in taxes. Under the Republican bill, that family would receive not a dime under the child credit…

The truth is that our Tax Code is slightly progressive. That is, those in the upper incomes pay a slightly higher percentage of their income in taxes. But the people who are hurting, the people who are having a difficult time paying their…

When we look at the tax proposals when fully implemented, under the Republican bill less than one-third of the tax relief goes to those that are of middle income, no matter what definition we use for middle income. ... when I go to my…

Although we requested about 30 days ago what the transition rule would look like, we got our first draft of it yesterday morning. So we just got the transition rule yesterday morning. The second point I would point out is that Mr. Cole and…

I just wanted to correct the record on that because the subcommittee was in constant contact with the ranking member and chairman since December 21 to deal with the schedule, and at no time was there any delay caused because of someone…

I rise in support of the $5,000 adoption credit. The legislation provides that qualified adoption expenses are reasonable and necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorneys fees, and other expenses that are directly related to the legal…

It is interesting to point out as we are debating the issue here, the Prime Minister of Bosnia is testifying before the Helsinki Commission as to the necessity to remove the arms embargo now. By enforcing the arms embargo, we are violating…

The nutrients are acting as a suffocation to aquatic life. Non-point pollution is the cause. Education is important. The substitute moves us in that direction to control the issues. The underlying bill would prevent the actions.

Although I shall support the amendment to H.R. 1075, offered by Mr. Cox, which will add a noneconomic cap in medical malpractice awards, I do so with major reservations. The $250,000 cap is too low. My State of Maryland which originally…

I am concerned that attorneys representing the Federal Government or any of its entities or instrumentalities in Federal courts not be held to a different standard under rule XI(c) than other attorneys. Is it the intention of the…

And the same thing with a medium security prison. We cannot build a prison for the amount of money that is in the amendment that I have brought forward, but yet in the absence of this amendment being made available, 11 communities will go…

Clearly we are here to make choices, and this is a very minor cut as far as prisons are concerned, cannot even build part of a prison of any significant size.

Based on these meetings, I rise in support of H.R. 3527, the ban on semiautomatic assault weapons. Although this amendment sparked much discussion, I am convinced that the majority of my constituents support this ban. In 1986, of the guns…

To me this sounds like big government and, if you will, government at its worst, a real invasion of privacy that I don't see how any person can tolerate. But I believe, and I just ask you, isn't it really the logical extension of a…