Jim Baird

The fundamental question I would urge the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary and its members and this body as a whole to consider is this: it is a fine thing to defeat this legislation, and I respect the judgments of the people who…

in that brief time let me address what this amendment really does. It is very straightforward. It says this: in the event of a catastrophic loss of Members, if we lose over 218, in other words more than would be required to sustain a…

I would urge a no vote on the rule. How indicative that we said we will have 90 minutes to debate this, 90 minutes to debate the future of this country in the event of a terrorist attack. We are taking this tremendously seriously. I cannot…

Let me give you a scenario and see if you are comfortable with it. John Ashcroft said last week or the week before that high-profile targets include this summer the Democratic convention and the Republican convention. I will take him at…

My understanding of Madison's approach was that there were more elements to having a house of representation than mere election, as important as that is, but also the role of checks and balances, the role of proportionate representation…

reclaiming my time, the legislation that I put forward, actually it would obviate, not necessarily override. I really want to underscore that point. The chairman has repeatedly, really since day one of this, I think, misrepresented this…

In essence, what our amendment does is ask the Department of Defense to study the availability of mental health services for our returning soldiers and their families. I have been to Walter Reed on many occasions, and we are providing…

on the night of September 11, I began to think about what might happen if this institution were to perish in an attack, and I asked, who should we talk to to learn the answer to that question? And the answer to that was Charlie Johnson…

Mr. Speaker, I also respect also my colleague on the other side of the aisle because I know he cares about this. But at the end of the day today, we will have had an opportunity to vote to at least restore fairness to our citizens. When we…

I intend to support this most worthy proposal, and I think it is important that we establish for the record that this Congress is not intending with this legislation to authorize the use of force without approval of the Congress.

this is as serious as it gets. Two and a half years ago, we were given a remarkable gift. We were given the gift of life itself, as a plane was heading this way with the intent to kill all of us. Had they succeeded, the institution that we…

It is the night of the State of the Union Address. The President of the United States is here addressing the assembled body of the House and Senate. Behind him sits the Vice President of the United States in his capacity as President of…

Let us start with where we agree. Everyone who has spoken has said that the ideal way to replace Members permanently is through elections. People have suggested that this is somehow a covert way or a slippery slope to do away with…

if the gentleman would please show me where in the United States Constitution political parties are authorized to select candidates for the House of Representatives, I would be happy to engage in this colloquy.

if the gentleman is asserting that the purpose of this bill before us today is to protect the rights of all voters to elect their Representatives, effectively it is my position that you are disenfranchising those from independent parties…

earlier I asked this body to consider two questions: How would the Framers feel about the House of Representatives constituted by a few Members or no House of Representatives at all, and how would their constituents react if they had no…

I support the underlying transportation bill that will put America back to work, relieve congestion on our roadways, and streamline the permitting process. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on behalf of my amendment that will…

I should emphasize that we are by no means the only people who are working on this issue. Admirable and outstanding work, I think, was done by a working group within the Congress for a time period. That committee was chaired by the…

I do not recall reading in the Constitution of the United States that the executive branch is empowered to create a shadow government. I do recall, correctly I believe, that the Congress is empowered to provide through statutory language…

I respect that, because one of my principles about this whole debate has been that it should not be a partisan issue. The continuity of our government is not a Republican issue. It is not a Democratic issue. It is an issue for all…

the European Commission's antitrust investigation of Microsoft offered an opportunity to complement the recent U.S. settlement reached with the software corporation. Unfortunately, the Commission's ruling undermines the U.S. settlement and…

Does the gentleman from Oregon consider the actions of this administration a breach of a promise when it comes to the Land and Water Conservation Fund?

Let me read to my colleagues the comments of a memo from the Park Service administration to Park Service employees. They were talking, trying to prepare the employees in case someone asks, has our budget been cut, and here is what they…

if I may ask another question related to that. Our friends all day have been saying the Democrats want to raise our taxes, presuming that everyone over there must be a millionaire, because the only tax increase we have talked about are on…

I appreciate that. What I just wanted to clarify was, we both participated in the same budget hearing, and my recollection in that budget hearing was that in the outyears, the veterans budget increases at a mere 0.5 percent per year. So…