James Oberstar

We had a thoughtful, constructive discussion about the gentleman's proposal in the Rules Committee on Monday, and the gentleman is very sincere and very genuine in his proposal. However, we have a number of provisions in this bill to…

I strongly support H.R. 3712, a bill to designate the U.S. courthouse located at 1716 Spielbusch Avenue in Toledo, Ohio, as the ``James M. Ashley and Thomas W.L. Ashley United States Courthouse.'' This bill was introduced by the…

I rise in support of H.R. 5599, a bill to designate the Federal building located at 4600 Silver Hill Road in Suitland, Maryland, as the ``Thomas Jefferson Census Bureau Headquarters Building''. The United States census is a count of the…

I rise in support of H.R. 5787, as amended, and commend Chairman Waxman for taking steps to address Federal excess and surplus property issues. H.R. 5787 authorizes the Administrator of General Services to obligate funds to pay for a…

I commend my good friend and colleague from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson), chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, for his leadership in bringing the Conference Report on H.R. 2419, the ``Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008,'' to the…

While we continued to study it and develop it in university research centers and in contracts with the private sector, Germany and Japan moved ahead with test track MAGLEV technology projects. One of those, the German technology version…

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, here we are once again for at least the fifth time in 3 years to consider technical corrections to the SAFETEA-LU legislation. In the 109th Congress, the gentleman from Alaska, then Chair of the full committee…

One of the items in our technical corrections bill that I mentioned at the outset was clarifying language to help the Federal Transit Administration to properly interpret section 3011 of SAFETEA-LU on New Start and Small Start project…

I earnestly hope now that after two decades of studying, evaluating and developing in very limited test modes, MAGLEV technology will now be able to move ahead with passenger MAGLEV technology. I also note for the record that the gentleman…

I don't share the ranking Republican member's pessimistic outlook for this legislation. The Coast Guard reauthorization has been reported from committee in the other body. It has been hotlined by the Democratic leadership in the other…

Again I thank the gentleman for yielding. It is certainly not our intent to elevate marine safety. Marine safety is one of several functions of the Coast Guard. But as I said in earlier debates, when Mr. Young, then chairman of the…

The Coast Guard in the past 4 months has had 23 cases involving semi-submersible vessels, and the Coast Guard intelligence sector predicts that 85 cases will occur this year, possibly a projection of 120 such cases next year. This…

I just wanted to reaffirm for my colleague in the Hip Replacement Caucus from California that when we transferred authority from the FAA to the NTSB for aviation appeals, we provided authority, funding, and we went to the Appropriations…

I do support the amendment offered by the distinguished gentleman from Florida... It will be a valuable asset in the ongoing struggle against terrorism, and I appreciate the gentleman offering the amendment.

It was truly delightful to hear the discourse of the gentleman from Massachusetts, perspicacious, omniscient. It is rare that tediological inquiries occur in this body. And for that reason, it is rare to hear such felicitous language used…

We do not transfer ALJs from the Coast Guard. We leave those in place, just transfer the venue, and we will provide both in this bill and in the subsequent NTSB authorization funding for additional ALJs at the NTSB, as we did in aviation.

Again, it is not just the Great Lakes, it's the saltwater ports as well. Our colleagues on the west coast for many years, I remember in the seventies and eighties, were saying, what are you worried about invasive species for? Then curious…

The manager's amendment authorizes the Coast Guard to delegate to classification societies the Coast Guard's authority for safety plan review and construction inspections of offshore oil structures. It allows this authority to be delegated…

The amendment of the gentlewoman arises out of a very tragic case on which the committee held an extensive hearing, and attempted to address the issue in language within the pending bill. Her amendment would go to the heart of this issue…

Lockheed Martin, which has the contractor responsibility for issuance of TWIC cards, has reported that fingerprint rejection rate due to poor print quality has been in the range of 2 percent. If you happen to be one of those 2 percent…

I enormously respect the distinguished and amiable gentleman from Ohio, the weight-lifting champ of the House gym. When he walks on the floor, the weights quiver and shake in awe of his appearance. He has been an advocate for the Delta…

This amendment builds upon the ongoing work of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop the next generation of testing methodologies for coastal recreation waters. These new standards, already well behind schedule, should represent…

In the 109th Congress, we considered the reauthorization of the Appalachian Regional Commission. During consideration of the bill in committee, I proposed language to prohibit earmarks, which have been done time and again in the…

I have sat here patiently and listened to a litany of speakers come here and address the Committee of the Whole on subjects important to them but irrelevant to the subject matter at hand. And one or another, maybe several of them, said…

It reflects an attitude of complacency at the highest levels of FAA management.