Cass Ballenger

On 9-11 I stood here and made a speech about the overvalued dollar and its bad effect on our trade, especially the textile industry. Then came the vicious attack. Since that time, the President and the House leadership have promised to aid…

On October 12, 2000, 10 men, including five Americans, were abducted from an Ecuadorean oil field. On January 31, 2001, Ron Sander of Sunrise Beach, Missouri, was brutally murdered by his captors. The hostages spent 141 days in captivity…

I have continually criticized the Norwood-Dingell-Ganske bill because of the liability language which threatens the employer-based system of health care. The Norwood amendment excludes employers from being held liable for selecting a…

I have opposed the costly and overreaching ergonomics standard that was finalized by the Clinton administration. I believe this ill-conceived regulation will have a detrimental effect on American business and its workers. This ergonomics…

Here we go again. First it is inventing the Internet, then it is drugs for his mother-in-law and his dog. Now it appears the Vice President's imagination has really run wild again. When Governor Bush mentioned traveling to a disaster area…

Today, Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, celebrates its centennial. It is altogether fitting that we pause to honor the vision and accomplishments of its founder, the Reverend Edgar Tufts, on this celebrated day. For 100…

Author Pearl S. Buck once wrote, ``Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or to be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.'' Yet our…

I would like to say antitrust exemption will not improve health care quality at all. Proponents of this bill say that it will level the playing field between doctors and health plans. But what happens to the consumer when the providers get…

I am a senior citizen. I actually am that proper age and have Medicare and each night I use Zocor and Cardura and Claritin D and Timoptin, but I pay for them myself. We in Congress earn over $130,000 per year. We should not receive…

On Sunday, October 31, 1999, the first three of six of the long awaited Blackhawk helicopters crossed into Colombian airspace, returning from extensive training in the U.S. The choppers were later received by the Director General, the…

No American can be forced to contribute to political causes or campaigns with which he or she disagrees except one group, members of labor unions. Our committee had a hearing and heard from members of the U.S. Airways union in Charlotte…

A more accurate way for the Democrats to look at this resolution is from the perspective of paying what we promised Paul before we begin to give new money and make other promises to Peter. We simply cannot neglect the fact that we promised…

It serves as an useful reminder to Republicans for what they stand for as a party. To Republicans, taxes are a freedom issue. We believe that people should be entitled to the fruits of their labor. Slavery was a great evil because slaves…

Thus, to take an extreme example, a program funded by this bill could not require that an applicant be sterilized before she is eligible for microenterprise assistance?

Section 4(b)5 of the bill states that ``Assistance provided under this subsection may only be used to support microenterprise programs and may not be used to support programs not directly related to the purposes described in paragraph…

Most people do not know how much the tax cuts that have been passed by the Republicans in the last several years have helped the poor. Now this is true: A normal family of four will not pay any Federal income tax until they earn over…

I am willing to accept the President's proposal to hire 100,000 new teachers but the President must then agree to test them for competence and he must also agree to discharge them for incompetence. Uh-oh, I am just guessing, but suddenly…

I still remember, because I had joined his organization. He and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) invented this idea of the Pork Busters. And talk about an individual who does not mind getting bruised and beat up. Anybody in those…

I think the country would be spared a lot of agony and the government could worry about inflation and a lot of other problems if he'd resign.

I think it's plain that the President should resign and spare the country the agony of this impeachment and removal proceeding.

I think the definition of impeachment should include any criminal act plus willful failure of the President to fulfill his duty to uphold and execute the laws of the United States.

I ask for assurance that the conference outcome is consistent with existing law as set forth in Public Law 94-455, establishing that Congress wants to encourage ESOPs, not choke them to death with unreasonable rules and regulations.

I wanted to speak in favor of H.R. 1853, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational-Technical Education Act Amendments. As a businessman who had to hire many people through my business lifetime, the most frustrating thing that occurs is when a person…

What do we call a tax cut for people who do not pay taxes? I call it welfare. And once again, the Democrats want more welfare spending instead of tax cuts for working Americans. It has been 16 years since working Americans got their taxes…