Let me just say that I asked the Congressional Research Service whether Secretary Rubin could legally withhold trust funds. They said their first review of the law said, no, it would be illegal to withhold trust fund payments for any trust…

I am introducing a bill this morning that I would invite all Members to cosign with me. It is a bill that says there shall be no increase in net marketable debt after December 31, 2001. Mr. Speaker, both sides of this issue on how we reach…

I think it would be good for all of us to review exactly where we have been in debt extensions: Since 1980, H.R. 7428, a debt extension with increases in the import fee. In 1985, H.R. 3721, a debt ceiling increase with an increase in the…

There are two numbers that I think the American people and all of us should remember about the President's budget. One number is $300 billion, one number is $200 billion. He spends $300 billion more than Republicans. He increases or has…

I wanted you to know, it is not totally perfected yet. It is a continuing resolution. My understanding is it will go to March 15. It takes those appropriation bills the President has vetoed. It reinstates some of that funding to give the…

I also say, let us stay here, let us resolve the issue. It seems to me that again we need a review of what is happening with this budget process. The Democrats criticize the Republicans for probably biting off more than they can chew in…

I would like to ask a test question. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the question to the American people to give me your best guess, of all of the money lent out in the United States last year, how much of that money do you think was…

I would hope we can use part of this hour to talk about some of the other crazy things that are happening in the Federal Government, but it seems to me the fact is that there is no dollar savings as we look at revitalizing Medicare in this…

Let me tell you what has happened in the U.S. Congress, as I observe it, and that is Members traditionally members of the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities that wanted to spend more money on education, say, ``I want to be…

for example, electricians in Philadelphia average $15.76 per hour on private contracts, but the prevailing wage for them is $37.97. There are many similar examples, as you point out.

At least in Michigan, they are saying you are not going far enough, you are not going fast enough. You know, we are not doing the traditional tax-and-spend anymore. I mean, the voters of this country have said, ``Look, we are paying over…

You know, the President has even said as we look at the Medicare B provisions, he--this is--what he expects recipients to pay for their share of the premium ends up to be $7 less than what the Republican proposal is, so we have $7-a-month…

Well, you know, it is only partisan for those individuals that think they have a target to shoot down something, to criticize rather than being constructive to help develop the best solutions to save, preserve, and keep Medicare available…

Although there is stiff competition for the title, 'Dumbest Thing the Government is Doing,' a leading candidate is the government's refusal to repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. Davis-Bacon is not outdated; it never made sense. From the outset…

We have two trains. There is a train on each track. One is the appropriation bills. We have 13 appropriation bills. They must be enacted to allow the Federal Government to continue spending in those areas. Those 13 appropriation bills have…

In 1917, Congress was passing on every borrowing, so they would agree who we were going to borrow money from and on the interest rate. In 1917 what they said was, ``OK, from now on we are going to set a debt ceiling. You can continue to…

That is right. Mr. Speaker, we have enticed so many people to come up to the public trough, that they have become accustomed to it. It is difficult to make the transition away from that trough. It has to be done. Mr. Speaker, politicians…

several issues have come up, but I would like to start out with agriculture, what the Federal farm policy should be in this country and the advantages and disadvantages to the farmer and the consumer. Since the early 1930's, we decided…

The House has done very well. Now we need to finalize our ambitions, get these bills enacted into law. You know, it should be frightening to everybody in this country, how big this Government has gown to be. After World War II, in 1947, we…

I wonder how many Americans feel that there is fraud and abuse, wasteful spending, that there is fat in this Federal Government, that the overspending of the Federal Government is leading us into a debt situation that is going to be…

I wonder how many Americans really think that the Members of this body will have the gumption to balance the budget 7 years from now. Mr. Speaker, I wonder how many Members of this Chamber think that we are really going to make the hard…

I rise to address the House regarding the budget, the debt ceiling that we are now approaching, and why that is important to the American people in an expanded economy for the United States and an expanded job market. First let us look at…

I think we should remind ourselves what we are after. We are not just after changes in the way the Federal Government keeps its books. Our goal is to make the United States a better place to live and work and raise our families. How do we…

I would like to comment today about the Supreme Court decision limiting the powers of the States to prohibit those States from enacting term limits. Madam Speaker, the majority opinion in U.S. Term Limits versus Thornton, as Justice Thomas…

most economists that appeared before our Committee on the Budget agreed that increasing taxes is not the way to balance the budget if we want to stimulate job growth in this country. And as everybody knows, or should know, 2 years ago in…