Jim Ramstad

I would like to dispel some of the misleading hyperbole the American people are being fed today. Americans are sick of political double talk. They want the truth--so here it is. This surplus we are talking about here today--do you know…

I rise to offer a critical missing component to the bill before us today. In an attempt to overcome germaneness hurdles, I have modified this amendment so it will not amend ERISA. However, I am aware that other parliamentary concerns have…

while the Speaker's announced goal of a drug-free America by 2002 is a laudable one, it is also completely unrealistic without a meaningful treatment strategy. We will never even come close to a drug-free America until we knock down the…

I join my colleagues from Pennsylvania and West Virginia in sponsoring this amendment to prevent the drastic 50% cut in Legal Service Corporation funding. Without adequate funding for Legal Services, our poorest, most vulnerable citizens…

this is a somber and solemn day for Congress and our Nation. Our Capitol Hill family has suffered great loss with the deaths of Officers Jacob ``J.J.'' Chestnut and John Gibson. The entire country was both shaken by violence at our Capitol…

Minnesota nice'' took a hard hit last week. Within a few blocks of downtown Minneapolis, the body of a 77- year-old woman was found wrapped in plastic, stuffed in a cardboard box in a bedroom closet of her own apartment. Why was ``Miss…

nearly 26 million Americans are presently suffering from the ravages of drug and alcohol addiction. There is an epidemic in America, a national crisis of alcohol and drug addiction. One in 10 people in the United States of America is…

America's two newest sports heroes are the pride of every American. I rise today to pay tribute to a group of talented, hard-working women who have written a new chapter in America's glorious Olympic history, the U.S. women's Olympic…

We promised, Mr. Speaker, tax relief for the American people, and we delivered. We also promised a major overhaul of the IRS, and today we must deliver again. Mr. Speaker, this first comprehensive reform of the Internal Revenue Service in…

the reference to my home State of Minnesota, the gentleman who made that statement should know that, in fact, there are no Legal Service Corporation dollars involved in that lawsuit. It is Minnesota, not Wisconsin.

Of course there should be sanctions to those who violate the reforms that we enacted in 1997 which took effect in 1996. I will join my colleague in such legislation. But this, Mr. Chairman, is not the vehicle to attach that, to go after…

I daresay, without the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Bill Archer], we would not be here with this tax relief bill, the most substantial tax relief for the American people since 1981. In addition to the more publicized provisions of this bill…

It is amazing, Mr. Speaker, what we can do, the President and the Congress, when we work together in a bipartisan, pragmatic way for this country. That is why we are here today on an historic threshold, and I rise in strong support of the…

we are privileged to have the Reverend Robert Taylor Baggott III of Wayzata, MN, as our guest chaplain today. Bob Baggott is the senior minister of my home church, Wayzata Community Church, and a close personal friend. Bob is a highly…

I also have never been more proud of the people I represent in the Twin Cities suburban Third District. They have also been there, and they are there, they are going to remain there in support of our friends in North Dakota and South…

since first coming to Congress, I have worked closely with our former colleagues Bill Emerson and former Senator Harold Hughes and many other current Members to address the epidemic of alcoholism and substance addiction in our country…

I am happy to report that this legislation before us today represents a bipartisan and unanimous effort on the part of the Committee on Ways and Means to find an immediate solution to the very real crisis threatening the solvency of the…

I rise with mixed feelings about this conference report. I am concerned about both the integrity of our legislative process and the narrowness of our mental health care debate. Earlier this year, I supported the House-passed version of the…

I rise today to praise a very special person from the Third District of Minnesota, who exemplifies the unconquerable spirit of America, a man who overcame tremendous obstacles to become one of the greatest baseball players in major league…

Bill Emerson was loved by all of us in this body and he will be missed by all of us. We all knew Bill Emerson was a skillful legislator who represented the best in public service. I always knew Bill Emerson the person. He was one of my…

I rise today on National Peace Officers Memorial day to pay tribute to the 14,064 peace officers who have given their lives to protect our communities. The names of these 14,064 brave men and women are permanently etched on the walls of…

as the author of the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Act, which became law in 1994, I am grateful we are voting today to pass a bill to make it even stronger. The Wetterling Act was named after Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted…

as chair of the task force which crafted the legal reform plank of the Contract With America, I feel extremely gratified to see an important part of our efforts come so far in the process. Although the reforms contained in the conference…

Mr. Speaker, last year alone, $31 billion was lost to Medicare fraud and abuse, Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse. Everyone here talks about doing something about waste, fraud and abuse in our health care system. This bill finally does…

today our House Committee on Ways and Means passed the Medicare Preservation Act to save Medicare, to keep the Medicare system solvent until the year 2010 and to let seniors have more choices in health care plans. Our legislation keeps…