Richard Gephardt

Vote no on the previous question. The gentleman knew what I meant. Madam Speaker, let me end with this last point. This is perhaps the most important legislation we will consider in our whole time in the Congress. There is not a more…

I rise to urge every Member of the House to vote ``no'' on the previous question and ``yes'' on the motion to commit. The Republican leadership would have us believe that they can pass eight or nine bills in a flurry of legislative…

let me say to the ladies and gentleman of the House that I first want to thank my Democratic colleagues for their support and their confidence. I noted we were a little short, but I appreciate your friendship and your support. As you might…

I rise today in strong support of this Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. I believe that Chairman Obey and his colleagues on the committee have crafted a good bill--a bill that advances the cause of freedom and democracy, and…

Mr. Chairman, Members of the House, I rise against the Walker amendment, and I rise to speak in favor of this bill. As I understand it, the Walker amendment would make it impossible to go forward with the intent of their bill and…

Yesterday, more than 340,000 small businesses came together to tell the truth about health care reform. They formed a new small business coalition for health care reform--on behalf of more than 3 million hard-working Americans--builders…

few of us will ever forget the day, more than 4 years ago, that Nelson Mandela walked into this very room, and spoke before a joint session of the U.S. Congress. He spoke of the promise of a free and equal South Africa--the promise of a…

I rise today in support of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act, H.R. 3191. I would like to commend Representative Kennedy and his subcommittee for their efforts to bring this much-needed legislation to the floor. What we saw in the…

I rise in strong support of the Racial Justice Act, and urge Members to reject the McCollum amendment and to vote for the Racial Justice Act. I make this statement as a supporter of the death penalty, but also one who wants the death…

members of the committee, I would rise to ask Members to vote against this motion, and I do it for the reason that we are now at a stage in our budget process where we have made important decisions. We have decided what the spending level…

for weeks now, the pundits and the back-seat policymakers have been pronouncing health care reform dead on arrival. Every day we read about the multimillion dollar negative ad campaigns, the high stakes lobbying blitz, the arm-twisting by…

I want to urge Members to vote against the motion to recommit, and I want to urge Members to vote for this report. This legislation has had a long and difficult path to this point. It is a piece of legislation that was developed by both…

I am reviewing now what is in the resolution. That is first. Second, the gentleman is right, that there are other committees that have other fragments and pieces of this fact situation that will be dealt with in other committees under…

What the Speaker was saying earlier today and what we are trying to say now is that there is a commitment to try in good faith to find the right, the appropriate way, to have hearings on Whitewater. Obviously implicit in that statement is…

I believe, again, the commitment is ironclad that there will be an attempt made, a very serious attempt in good faith, to try to find a way in the proper forum, at the proper time, in the proper sequencing, in coordination with the special…

Mr. Speaker, this is a resolution presented by the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Michel] and myself. It is a sense of the House resolution. It says that the Congress has a constitutional obligation to conduct oversight of matters relating…

Members of the House, I rise in opposition to the Stenholm amendment. I want to give my regard to the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Stenholm, who has been tireless in this effort and has been completely consistent in his voicing his concern…

I thought Republicans were for a Federal system, and Federalism, and wanted States to help out.

Are you for the Medicare plan? Do you want to get rid of it, or do you think we ought to keep it?

Mr. Bliley, you are a sponsor of the Michel plan. The Michel plan does not take care of preexisting conditions. It limits them, but it does not get rid of them. If you get sick while you, under your insurance policy----

We are not at all running away from it. I am very proud of it. I am happy to talk about it. But I get to ask you a question, and my question is: We are talking about elements of plans that get the job done.

Mr. Bliley, you were talking before about the question of choice. You were talking also about costs, and I would simply like to ask why it is that none of the Republican plans, except perhaps the plan by the gentleman from California [Mr…

It does not. You can quadruple premiums if you get sick on the plan, while you are on the plan. Nothing in the Michel plan stops an insurance company from doing that. If there is one thing we need to do----

Why are you not for a plan that gets everybody involved with their responsibility to have health care?

First, Mr. Bliley, I think maybe you misdescribed the Clinton plan to your constituents, because if he really understood what is going on here, he would know that it is the Clinton plan that finally gets his colleagues in small business…