Nick Smith

I would suggest I am not making existing law more tougher, but if the court decides, for lack of a better word, that the violation is egregious enough or the amount of the contribution or the potential for influence is egregious enough…

They would be in violation of existing law, is my understanding. But if they have a green card, I have exempted these types of individuals from the more extensive parameters of the law under my amendment. But if the gentleman would look to…

They have been indicted under existing law. I am not familiar whether they have been convicted or not. There was a guilty plea this afternoon, I understand.

Well, certainly if we look at the activities of Charlie Trie or John Huang or Johnny Chung, these individuals that now have been indicted for illegal contributions under existing law. Again, we do not change any of the definition in…

The penalty is not more severe. The option is more extensive. So in the eyes of the court, if they decide that the violation is egregious enough, they have an option of a greater penalty than under existing law. Existing law has a maximum…

Mr. Chairman, very briefly, each one of these bars represents how much money has been spent by the Federal Government for each one of these years, 1994 through 2003. In 1994 we started out at $1.4 trillion. We are ending up in the…

Very briefly, this debate is important, because the White House spins the President's budget as a glorious solution of how government can solve problems by spending money. Nobody has talked about where the money comes from. That is the…

I would just suggest that it is very dangerous if we continue to rely on tax increases to solve this problem. Today, the American working families pay more, 75 percent of American working families pay more in the FICA tax, Social Security…

That has got to be an ultimate goal. The other goal that the gentleman from Colorado and I both agree with is we have got to start paying down the Federal debt. Right now, the interest on that $5 rac{1}{2}$ trillion that the Federal…

Should all good causes be implemented into Federal law? And I think what I hear you saying is no.

One thing that came from almost all the cities was that we should stop using the Social Security trust fund money to mask the deficit and that we should stop using, taking that money, and in return giving nonmarketable IOUs. ... I…

I would like to put in a suggestion, Mr. Speaker, that we use some of this money to start paying back the Social Security trust fund and start dealing with the huge unfunded liability that we are now faced with with this program of Social…

Just according to the Heritage Foundation, phasing out subsidies will save $2.3 billion over 5 years.

My amendment, Mr. Chairman, would have delayed the implementation of the new formula so that the appropriate authorizing committees would have an opportunity to address these issues properly. I would ask the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr…

I call to my colleagues' attention that the Department of Health and Human Services agrees that States should not have major disruption. The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors have just passed a resolution…

But do not take it out of crop insurance that is so important in the transition of the Freedom to Farm bill.

I will vote for that amendment if she puts it in, but let us not take it out of crop insurance that farmers are going to suffer from.

It seems important that we point out, Mr. Speaker, that over the last 40 years of Democrat control of this House, taxes increased much faster than inflation. My first year in Congress, 1993, the Democrat leadership without a single…

Just in response, Mr. Speaker, I would hope we all keep track of some of our goals in this country and what I assume we all want to accomplish, and one thing is more and better jobs. So the question, as we review tax cuts, is how do we get…

The language currently does not require the housing authority to perform these functions. However, a lot of my housing authorities feel that the existing language does require them to provide these kinds of services and counseling, so as…

Michigan has been aggressively pursuing better rules and regulations and laws under the guidance of our Lt. Gov. Connie Binsfeld, to work in this area of making adoption laws more practical, more realistic, and more helpful for those…

I was going to spend my 1 minute talking about the dangers of changing the CPI until we come up with provisions to make sure we protect the Social Security trust fund. ... I think it is so vital that we work together in solving very tough…

Let us take the hard course. Let us take the more conservative estimate. Let us start cutting spending. I know it is a tough job. We talk about all these expenditures. Let me give my colleagues one example: Social Security. We are…

This bill will give some kids a chance to learn how to farm the old-fashioned way: through hard work and sweat. They will work hard, planting their crops, watering them, guarding them against the many threats faced by all farmers--the…

Mr. Chairman, it is not a giant step in the way we are changing business in the United States Congress. Maybe it could be akin to the baby step forward. But still, if every Member of Congress knows how much they are spending for the carts…