The Public Record
Jim Oberstar is a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Minnesota's 8th congressional district from 1975 to 2011. He was known for his work on transportation and infrastructure issues, playing a key role in the development of the nation's transportation policies. Oberstar served as the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he advocated for improvements in highways, public transit, and aviation. His tenure was marked by a focus on enhancing safety and efficiency in transportation systems across the country.
the gentleman is proposing a very thoughtful amendment and making a very reasonable request, that the Secretary reimburse local port authorities, facility operators, State and local agencies when the security threat goes above green, if it…
I appreciate the intent and purpose of the gentlewoman's amendment and her deep conviction in offering it, her concern that the Coast Guard undertake these evaluations and which the Coast Guard does as a matter of routine. But I think this…
for myself, and I know I speak for the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young), we are happy to accommodate the gentleman's concern. I am particularly an aficionado of lighthouses. I think they have played an extraordinary role in the…
reclaiming my time, I concur in that concern, but I do want to have uniformity of application of law in the security arena, and I think the chairman agrees with that. I further do not believe, Mr. Chairman, that we would have intervention…
10 days ago Hurricane Katrina slammed into America's Gulf Coast. The devastation we have seen is unprecedented. While the Federal Government's response to this devastation has itself been a management catastrophe, I have been heartened by…
there is an old saying, success has a thousand fathers, failure is an orphan. We bring to this House success with at least 435 parents, starting with the Speaker of the House, who is a strong advocate for the original bill that the…
this item which the gentleman has raised was an item requested by Senate conferees on which Senate conferees voted and asked us to consider. We were not aware at the time that it was a BRAC item. We learned about it subsequently. Our…
for the record, it must be said that the chairman has worked mightily, put in extraordinary hours, and used his enormous powers of persuasion to achieve the agreement in conference with the other body and, when necessary for extensions, to…
the purpose of my request is to inquire of the chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and to ask him to take this opportunity to explain the extension that we will soon be considering on the House floor when the…
I support the bipartisan managers' amendment offered on behalf of the Committee. This amendment addresses several issues that were brought to the attention of the committee following the committee markup of a technical or clarifying…
I rise in support of H.R. 2864, the Water Resources Development Act of 2005. This legislation fulfills the commitment of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to produce water resources legislation for the Nation on a biennial…
I oppose the amendment. An efficient, modern, intermodal transportation system is vital to the economic well being of the Nation. Our inland waterways are a critical component of that system. This amendment sacrifices any hope of regaining…
I yield myself 30 seconds to express my gratitude to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette), one of our most principled Members and most thoughtful Members of this body for always seeking to do the right thing, policy-wise, and for the…
I yield for the purposes of making a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa). (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
I would just say it was quite a coincidence that just as we began, or just before beginning consideration of this bill, the papers arrived from the other body, signaling that we are ready, perhaps tomorrow, to move to go to conference…
the annual soap box derby is one of the most constructive activities that the Congress can support in behalf of young people and truly for families. As the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) has already explained and as the gentleman from…
I rise in support of H.R. 787, a bill to designate the new United States courthouse located at 501 I Street in Sacramento, California in honor of our friend, my dear and treasured friend and colleague, Congressman Bob Matsui. Congressman…
this is a very specious argument that we have before us. The rental company has insurance, so that makes everything fine, except that the amendment relieves the rental company of the liability on their insurance, except in the case of…
I rise in support of the Cox-Moran amendment that does protect owners of motor vehicles from predatory towing practices as both gentlemen have explained.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in very deep-seated feeling of opposition to this amendment. It has nothing to do with the gentleman, the offerer; but these series of attempts to undermine hours of service in the trucking sector, we went through a…
Here we are again, hopefully, to the Floor with what I fervently hope will not result in yet another extension of current law for our surface transportation program. That we do not have in place a 5-year or 6-year extension of our surface…
I have been advised that the administration has again sent a statement of administration policy drawing a line, the familiar term is drawing a line in the sand, but in the context in which we are discussing I would say a line in the…
I understand that. I have got large sectors of my congressional district that are intensely agricultural. We want that corn and soybeans to get to market in timely fashion. But in yielding a yard to the industry, they now want the whole…
Transportation is a public service. It is a means of moving people and goods in the public interest. And every industrialized nation in the world supports, with public funds, their public transportation. Let us not fool ourselves. The…
no person in our country should be given unfettered authority, unfettered discretion to waive any or all laws, for whatever the purpose. Take this situation. In order to expedite construction of this fence, the Department of Homeland…
Politicians like James Oberstar
