James Oberstar

I join in the gentleman's indignation, to put it mildly, over these attacks that are totally unjustified, unfounded, and inappropriate for Members of this body to make. First of all, the projects in question have gone through a very…

I support H.R. 2843, the Aviation Medical Assistance Act, and I urge our colleagues to vote for it today. I commend Chairman Duncan and Congressman Lipinski for working closely together in a nonpartisan fashion to develop a bill that was…

I am obviously very strong in support of the pending resolution... The Race for the Cure has brought this issue home to people of all walks of life all across the country, educating women to the need for self-examination, regular visits…

Mr. Chairman, it has been referenced by several Members on the other side that opposition on our side is partisan-based, partisan-motivated, we are upset because this airport is to be named for Ronald Reagan. It is not the Democrats who…

I would argue also that the person who had most to do with National Airport was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was present at the groundbreaking, who was the driving force behind the construction of that airport, who laid the cornerstone…

I offer my colleagues an opportunity to designate an appropriate memorial to President Ronald Reagan without a single dissenting vote. As was indicated by the previous vote, there is not complete bipartisan support. There are many on the…

So far, the costs that this bill will impose on the local airports authority are not known. It is conceivable that they will not be inconsequential or unsubstantial. The local authority should not be required to bear these costs when they…

Mr. Chairman, I know, as I said at the outset, how the vote is going to come out on this. This is Republican dogma. And the Republican side is going to vote because some order has been passed from on high to vote for this name change. But…

That is the distinction. My colleague draws false distinctions when talking about naming an airport in Houston for former President Bush. That was done by local authority. That is the whole point. We gave authority to the Metropolitan…

It is clear that the fix is in, the tablet has been handed down from atop Mount Gingrich. Republicans are determined to erect a political billboard at the entrance to the Nation's capital in honor of their hero Ronald Reagan. I have no…

Of course, we will debate it on its merits later. But it is not appropriate for the Congress to intercede in a jurisdictional matter where we have given authority to a local airport entity with full power, full authority, over the Dulles…

I made that exception. But the others were not done by the United States Congress. The gentleman from Illinois would embrace, then, given this scenario he just presented, would embrace an act of Congress to rename O'Hare Airport? Would the…

the constitutional scholars testifying before the Committee on the Judiciary made it clear that there is a high threshold for impeachment

While I respect his view, the objective of this legislation and what has moved us in this direction is a fervent hope that we will, through this legislation, move Amtrak to self-sufficiency, not dependence on public subsidy. That is, I…

I began my service in this body as a member of the staff, and I have great respect and particular appreciation for those who serve to support this institution and support the Members and guide them, point them in the right path, and that…

I join with Mr. Poshard, sponsor of H.R. 1502, in honoring Judge James L. Foreman. H.R. 1502 would designate the United States Courthouse located at 301 West Main St., Benton, Illinois as the James L. Foreman United States Courthouse…

I tell my colleagues we have got a wilderness border between the United States and Canada in my district, and the timberwolves will get them before anybody else gets across that border, believe me. There is no trafficking across that…

I did not vote for this immigration bill to begin with because I thought it was going to have many of the problems that have come up because it is so complicated, and the border between the United States and Canada is one of the most…

Mr. Chairman, I want to come back to the fundamental issue here, what is driving this issue; what are the costs that are driving the Amtrak problem. Last year, Amtrak had a $322 million deficit, in 1996. How much of that was caused by…

I respect the statement the Chairman of our Committee has just made, but I just want to point out that the legislation providing for the $2.3 billion simply calls for a reform, no adjectives to it. The underlying LaTourette amendment is…

I would say that I did not think there was much above the gentleman's pay grade. Mr. Chairman, it reminds me of the last Congress when this bill was before the committee and there was a vote and then we suspended and then we came back…

It is remarkable to note in that debate that not a single question was raised by either Democrat or Republican about labor issues. Not a single question. It passed on a voice vote in the House. It passed overwhelmingly on suspension later…

this is extremely important legislation. It puzzles me, therefore, why we have a truncated process today if it is that important and there is so little time remaining in the session that we are to have this restricted rule and this…

In the interest of accuracy, the 30-mile issue is not in Amtrak law, it is covered by a collective bargaining agreement. And if we wipe out collective bargaining agreements, then we have wiped out something labor and management together…

I specifically said my recommendation is make in order the LaTourette amendment, make in order the Quinn amendment, they deal with different aspects of the labor issue, and I specifically also said, "But do not play a little game with us…