the challenge before this body this week and the next several weeks is passing 13 appropriation bills. The challenge is based on whether or not we are going to stick by the promise that we made in the balanced budget agreement of 1997. At…

I have been waiting 9 hours to talk about a point that I think is very important. The motion, the amendment, says that since we are borrowing this money, since we are taking the surplus from the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for this…

the reason I am supporting this bill is because it has the tendency of making loans more available and it has the tendency of bringing interest rates down. This amendment throws open the door for litigation every time there is a dispute as…

I come in support of preserving American agriculture, because generally in this Congress, in this Nation, it is not a partisan issue. I say this with some emotion, because we have a serious challenge facing traditional agriculture in the…

Mr. Chairman, H.R. 1184 is legislation to reauthorize what is called the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program, NEHRP. It is a bill I am pleased to sponsor on behalf of the Committee on Science. The National Earthquake Hazard…

What we are suggesting in this budget is that we set 100 percent of the social security surplus aside, and lockboxes are hard, and we are hoping it does not have any false bottom, but we set it aside. Compare that with what the President…

very quickly, it is exciting, the budget resolution. It came back from the Senate with a couple changes: some increased money for child care, some lockbox language that helps assure that we do what we say we are going to do, a reserve fund…

I come before the Chamber this morning to talk about an important item for this country, and that is the solvency of Social Security. I have been in Congress 6 years. When I first came to Congress in the 103rd Congress, and subsequently in…

the problem, as the honorable gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt), ranking member of the Committee on the Budget, knows, is where do we come up with the money when there is not enough money coming in from Social Security to pay…

Mr. Speaker, it is easy to hoodwink people who might be listening when we are sort of listening superficially, but I think it should be very clear that the Democrat proposal does not do anything more to save social security than the…

this chart shows where we were when Republicans took the majority in 1995. For the foreseeable future, at that time, this government went deeper and deeper into debt--for as far as the economist could see. We came in, as the new majority…

I heard somebody on the other side of the aisle say this is a partisan decision. Not so. Republicans have mixed emotions. This is a serious decision. Our chairman is voting for the resolution. Some of us question it very seriously. It is…

I want to comment on Social Security and two misconceptions that minimize the seriousness of keeping Social Security solvent coming from the White House and from some of the status quo'ers. One is the suggestion that if we have a strong…

Mr. Speaker, agriculture is in a serious situation right now. Times are tough in farm country. While the rest of the economy is booming, American farmers and ranchers have not been invited to the party. Commodity prices, as the gentlewoman…

The challenge is still that the Democrats and the Republicans should not demagogue our efforts to try to save Social Security. A decision was made last week with the Republicans that we are going to set aside 100 percent of the Social…

In 1995, Republicans took the majority in this House, the U.S. House of Representatives. After being a minority for 40 years, we came in quite aggressively trying to promote the philosophy on what we thought was going to be good for our…

I rise in support of H.R. 882. Natural disasters and low commodity prices have forced many farmers and ranchers to seek government loans to cover operating and ownership expenses. In fact, in many states, funds available for these USDA…

I think maybe we will start believing these resolutions and we will do it. But, look, everybody needs to understand it is not easy. A Committee on the Budget staffer just figured out if we put every cent of the surplus into Social Security…

I think there are some portions of the President's budget that America should be very aware of. Number one, the budget substantially increases spending and the size of government, and, therefore, the opportunity to control more of our…

reports today indicate that the Office of Management and Budget is estimating that there will be a $4.5 trillion surplus over the next 15 years. I think that is a tribute to the efforts of this Chamber, of the Senate, and of the President…

I rise to commend the President for his decision to tackle the social security issue in his tonight's State of the Union Address. I welcome his leadership on this critical issue, and I look forward to his proposal that I hope is complete…

the President's guilt in this matter is undisputed. Even the Democratic-sponsored censure resolution states that he has violated the trust of the American people and dishonored the office which they have entrusted to him. Mr. Speaker, we…

world peace has been jeopardized because of Saddam Hussein's continued reluctance to cooperate with UN weapons inspectors. In the past 13 months, the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) has evacuated from Baghdad, in full or…

I just came from our Republican Conference talking about what is in this omnibus appropriation bill. The good news is that when we think of what might have happened with the tax-and-spend presidency, with the tax-and-spend Democrats, what…

I would just like to caution everybody watching this program, all of the voters in this country to brace yourself for the next couple 3 weeks before the election. Look, I think the proudest moment of this Congress was probably last year…