Richard Gephardt
The Public Record
Most widely reported
by number of sources- I urge Members to vote against this amendment, and I say that with an understanding of the gravity and importance of this problem. The first duty of Government is to protect the safety of its citizens, and probably right along with that is the duty to protect the borders of the United States and to see that illegal immigration does not take place. Like many of my colleagues in the chamber, I have been on the border many times, the Canadian border, and I have been to places like Miami, where illegal immigration occurs, and I have been on the border with Mexico. The truth is that we are not making a sufficient effort with the Immigration Service to make sure that illegal immigration does not take place. Perhaps we need to bring the Immigration Service bill back up on this floor. I am prepared, and I think a lot of Members are prepared, to appropriate additional moneys to make sure that our borders are secure. I am convinced that we can do a far better job than we are doing.4 sources1994govinfo.gov
- I rise to ask Members to vote against the tax bill offered by the Committee on Ways and Means and to vote for the substitute offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel). I arrive at that position for a number of reasons. First, I think that it is wrong to be taking up a tax bill without a budget. In fact, without even spending a moment deciding what the budget will say. By assigning 900 and some odd billion dollars to a tax cut that this bill encompasses, we are making decisions that will make it difficult, or different at least, to make other decisions that we might want to make in the budget, how much debt we are going to pay down, how much we are going to assign to defense or education or health care or all the other functions that are in the budget. So the cart is in front of the horse, and we should be waiting for this tax bill until we have considered the budget. A second reason that I urge Members to look at the Democratic alternative is because the forecasts that are the premise of the context for this tax cut bill so often are wrong. In fact, CBO recently said that they are always wrong.4 sources2001govinfo.gov
- I rise to urge Members to vote ``no'' against this rule. Over 1 year ago, Republicans passed an economic plan. They said at the time that their plan would generate economic growth, protect the surplus that we built up in the 1990s, and safeguard Social Security. Republicans enacted a giant tax bill for the wealthy, while promising that there would be enough room in the budget for Social Security, education, Medicare prescription drugs, and the defense of the United States of America. Today, Republicans are making it clear that they are refusing to confront the consequences of their economic plan. This rule is an outrage. It places full faith and credit language in the bill to avoid a desperate request by the President's Secretary of the Treasury to bail the administration out of the economic folly of their own making. It hides the fact that Republicans took a record surplus, turned it into a huge and mounting deficit, and put Social Security in jeopardy. It makes a mockery of the Republican rhetoric to safeguard the trust fund. It makes a mockery of the Republican votes to create a lockbox. It ignores and it weakens our intergenerational contract and commitment in the 21st century. Instead, Republicans refuse to work with Democrats. They deny debate on a plan the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moore) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) sought to offer. That plan provides a way out of spending the Social Security surplus.4 sources2002govinfo.gov
- it is almost a month to the day that we stood here and debated whether or not to release the materials that Ken Starr had sent to the Congress, and I tried to say at that time that this was a time of utmost importance, to us as a House of Representatives and to all of us as a people2 sources1997congress.gov
Jul 11, 2004
I thank you, and I honor you for letting me be here today, and I am sorry that I was not here the other night.
May 20, 2004
I have tried to put myself in the shoes of an average citizen, and I think it is gobbledygook, and I do not understand what they are talking about. But that really is the magic of this place. As the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) said…
Feb 4, 2004
Well, we are getting late word tonight that congressman and former presidential candidate, Richard Gephart, is about to throw his support to John Kerry.
Jan 14, 2004
The polls, I feel for a long time, have simply been indicating that this is a tight race. I have felt it was going to be a tight race as long as six months ago. But I feel in the end I'm going to win this race in Iowa.
Jan 13, 2004
Now we find out he thinks there is an upside to the terrorists running the Palestinian Authority. And we thought George W. Bush was unprepared to be president of the United States.
Jan 13, 2004
To me, there is no room for the cynical politics of manufactured anger and false conviction.
Jan 8, 2004
Who is he talking about? Is he saying labor unions or special interests or the senior citizens or the farmers? I don't think so. So I just -- I think these are not accurate comments. I don't understand them.
Jan 8, 2004
Who is he talking about? Is he saying labor unions or special interests or the senior citizens or the farmers? I don't think so. So I just -- I think these are not accurate comments. I don't understand them.
Dec 16, 2003
The group behind these ads isn't backing down. One official saying the latest ad was intended to highlight national security experience and 'that is what it does.'
Dec 13, 2003
He can't even find Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. They've vanished.
Nov 23, 2003
If we're going to beat George Bush, we have got to take a position of leadership on these issues and stick with them. We can't be all over the lot.
Nov 23, 2003
Howard, I think you are all over the lot on this issue. First of all, at the time the resolutions were on the floor, you said you favored the Biden-Lugar resolution, which in effect was the same thing that we passed on the floor. It was…
Oct 16, 2003
Congress today will vote on an issue of great importance to the Nation. This week, Congress will vote on the President's request for $86.7 billion in supplemental spending to fund ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as…
Oct 10, 2002
this House has precious little time left in this session. Today we finished important business on Iraq. We worked across the aisle with Republican colleagues to come up with that resolution. We could use that same type of framework to get…
Oct 10, 2002
26 years ago, I was fortunate to be elected by my constituents to serve in this House, and I represent today the district in which I was born. I am proud that the people of my district trust me to try to represent them every day. It is an…
Oct 8, 2002
I rise to urge a free and fair debate on this floor about the future of Social Security before the November elections occur. Here we are in October, nearing what will become the end of the 107th Congress, and we have yet to have a real…
Oct 1, 2002
I rise to urge the House Republican leadership to address people's serious economic concerns. Today we awoke to reports on the radio which said that the front pages of major newspapers were dominated by the failed performance of our stock…
Oct 1, 2002
Patsy Mink was my friend and my colleague and I am deeply saddened by her death. Patsy fought hard every day for the values and ideals that make our nation great. She worked to ensure access to good public schools for every American child…
Sep 24, 2002
I rise to urge the Republican leadership to address the unfinished business of the American people's agenda. The House has a lot of work to do and not a lot of time in which to do it. In America today millions of hard working families face…
Sep 11, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I am honored to cosponsor this resolution with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey) in the spirit of bipartisan unity on this difficult day for our wonderful and great Nation. We gather together today to remember the victims…
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