James Oberstar

I rise in support of H.R. 2195, a bill to provide additional space and resources for the national collections held by the Smithsonian Institute. I commend the Gentleman from Ohio, Congressman Regula, for introducing the bill, which is…

H.R. 2657 appropriates nearly $295 million to the Architect of the Capitol for fiscal year 2004. The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, on which I serve as Ranking Democratic Member, is the authorizing committee with…

Medicare, the most successful social service program since Social Security, will be dramatically transformed and, in the long run, unraveled by this Republican bill we are debating tonight. Their plan will convert Medicare from a defined…

I thank the gentlewoman from yielding me this time. Madam Speaker, the University of Minnesota--Duluth women's hockey team achieved something truly extraordinary in the history of collegiate athletics in winning the NCAA hockey…

Mr. Chairman, I, too, of course rise in support of H.R. 2115, Flight 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. It is appropriate that we apply that title to the bill in this year; it is the 100th anniversary of flight. When you think…

I would just take a moment to express my appreciation for the recognition by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson) that it has been the Committee on Appropriations that has been the obstacle on EAS. It has been the Committee on…

I would add that the manager's amendment does include two very important provisions offered by the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) to promote intermodalism. The first requires airports that undertake major construction projects to…

I just want to raise a cautionary note, that in doing so we do not scare business away from the United States from foreign manufacturers. I am very strong on Buy America, I insist on it in the Federal aid highway program on steel, but…

I rise in support of H.R. 1018, a bill to designate the court of international trade building at 1 Federal Plaza in New York City as the ``James L. Watson United States Court of International Trade Building.'' Judge Watson, a native New…

Mr. Speaker, a close read of this conference report provides for transportation infrastructure programs, little more than the status quo, $41.7 billion for the coming fiscal year. If that is what the majority is presenting to us, this…

A ``no'' vote, Mr. Speaker, on the previous question will allow the House to vote on both the bill reported by the committee and the clean AMBER Alert bill passed by the Senate which can then go immediately to the President for his…

in the current international debate on Iraq, I have the very clear impression that the United States and France are talking past each other and not listening to each other. More particularly, that the United States is not listening to the…

I rise to pay tribute and to express profound appreciation to Gilda K. Beatty, my office manager of more than 33 years who took her retirement at the end of December last year. Gilda, best known to everyone who met her as ``Jill,'' began…

the proposal to create a new Select Committee on Homeland Security interestingly does not make any changes in the legislative jurisdiction of the committees outlined in rule 10 of the rules of the House. For instance, in the Committee on…

H.R. 5604 is a bill to designate the federal building located at 46 East Ohio St., Indianapolis, Indiana, as the ``Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse.'' This bill is sponsored by the entire Indiana delegation in the…

H.R. 5611 is a bill to designate the federal building located at 324 Twenty-Fifth Street in Ogden, Utah as the James V. Hansen Federal Building. Congressman Hansen began his career in public service in local government in Farmington, Utah…

Mr. Speaker, the homeland security bill has a number of problems with it that invite my opposition. First, it has aviation provisions that will diminish security and safety. It will give inequitable benefits to airlines and private…

The resolution before us breaks all of those agreements, discards all of those understandings, throws it all aside. The reality is today this is a raid on the Highway Trust Fund. We have a $15 billion surplus in the Highway Trust Fund…

Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago I had returned to Minnesota from a human rights inquiry trip with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee in El Salvador, where we inquired into abuses of human rights visited upon Salvadorans and the four…

I would conclude by observing that Paul Wellstone was more than a Senator, more than an advocate for ideas, for issues, for causes. Paul Wellstone was himself a movement, a movement for justice. I pray that his movement will continue in…

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was Veterans Day, November 11. As I woke up in the morning, I thought, well, I am getting on a plane today and I am going to be heading off to Washington, a different type of Veterans Day than I was used to spending…

Mr. Speaker, again I express my appreciation to the gentleman from Tennessee for his kind, thoughtful remarks, and to the gentleman from Michigan for his thoughtful comments as well, and to say that this is the finest example of how…

I express my great appreciation to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) for moving this legislation, and, of course, to the Chair of the full committee for moving the bill through subcommittee, the full committee and…

our Constitution entrusts to Congress alone the power to declare war, a power we should invoke with great care on evidence of a clear and present danger to our country. President Bush has asked Congress to cede that power to him to be…

I rise in support of H.R. 5427, a bill to designate the federal building in Roswell, New Mexico as the ``Joe Skeen Federal Building''. Congressman Skeen has ably represented the citizens of the 2nd district of New Mexico for 22 years. He…