Bruce F. Vento

Mr. Speaker, I think we have a serious problem with regard to housing policy and the housing quality of native Americans across the country. In fact, I think as we look at housing we find it to be some of the poorest quality housing in the…

Well, Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his time, but I think the gentleman has not answered the question. Our problem is that we cannot conduct a hearing on the House floor after we get no notification until we see this on the…

I think the issue here is one of suitability of this particular location as the visitor center that relates to all the other type of historic fabric and experience, in terms of our experience in terms of emancipation and the whole…

I want to stipulate that I do not disagree with the goals in terms of recognition of the underground railroad, but we need to have a plan. We need to follow and use the information from the study. I understand that the gentleman from…

I would say that it is true; I have worked on hundreds of bills in the past, and I will tell my colleagues every one of those bills that I worked on had a hearing, and I did not act in those years that I did so on any affiliated area, none…

Mr. Speaker, the fact that is misunderstood here is while this may all be discretionary in the bill based on the status of the language, the fact is that the history of this has been that in the Committee on Appropriations they will place…

I understand that there is some misunderstanding with regard to what some of the phrases in this legislation mean. As you go through it, on page 3, line 16, it talks about the National Park Service can work with and do interpretive…

I rise today to oppose H.R. 2202, the Immigration and National Interest Act. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is not in the Nation's best interest, as the title erroneously suggests. While I agree that measures must be undertaken to reduce…

I think that what we see epitomized in these two good national policymakers is the magic of what happens in Congress. People are elected with many different talents and they assume responsibility here, and although they are not specialists…

I rise today to oppose this legislation, H.R. 123. This measure would establish English as the official language of the United States, an unnecessary move that would only serve to polarize our communities and segregate those for whom…

this is brought before us as a contest between the insurance agents and the banks. The truth of the matter is, of course, even if we could define the word insurance, which is, of course, itself a monumental task today, we would not, in…

I support the point of order that my colleague from Maryland raises. Under the precedents of the House, obviously the limitation on appropriation is a very substantial power and a responsibility of Congress in terms of the purse strings…

I will not get into a seance with my friend from Georgia, but some good news that did come through from the Senate this week was the passage of the minimum wage bill. That is right, in spite of the Republican leadership's concerted effort…

almost all of the money in this bill that is being expended is for good purposes. The problem is not with what is in the bill, it is what is not in the bill, what is out of it. I am glad we are able to do something on community service…

I commend the gentleman. We have worked on these amendments for 2 years. Unfortunately, this year we have not had any hearings on FHA, but these are good amendments. They ought to be incorporated. I still am concerned about the…

Mr. Chairman, I am reserving my point of order. I would point out that this obviously goes beyond the scope of appropriating and into policy areas, much of which the committee, the principal committee on which I serve and many others in…

I just think it points right out to this offset agreement where they demand that the product, not just that they transfer the technology and then they produce it and then the next thing you know they are selling it back to us, our own…

I crossed that out and said no, it is a fight between the ordinary Joe and the NASA labyrinth. It is not a blame game in terms of whose fault it is, it is a phenomenon of the social and economic casualties that are occurring in our…

I would just follow on with the gentleman. I appreciate it. It was the right decision, incidentally, to deinstitutionalize. I as a State legislator had to face the same programs with the SLICK programs and others that have been put in…

we have a new predicate in terms of how we move in dealing with this issue, but not on the backs of the homeless. This particular amendment would help 100,000 people that are homeless. It is an enormously important amendment to try and…

Mr. Chairman, the fact is when this was taken to court, the Secretary was forbidden to use his discretion. He said that this waiver, he could not apply any of these standards, and his attorneys, the attorneys for both the Secretary of…

I would like to close some of the roads. I think that is really where we ought to be putting some dollars, because I do not think in the long run you can keep 379,000 miles of road open and maintained properly, because they do, in fact…

I want to just turn to page 50 of the bill that the gentleman is commenting on and I want to point out it says on line 16 that not to exceed $50 million to remain available until expended may be obligated for the construction of forest…

The Sweet Home decision. And it was suggested that this activity by the Fish and Wildlife Service constituted, that was the assertion, that it constituted a taking. The Supreme Court rejected that particular logic. Mr. Chairman, I would…

this is a good amendment, an amendment that talks about our fundamental priorities in this Congress in terms of the way we fund various activities, and enable and empower people to have the opportunity to use our resources. In the bill…