Melvin Watt

let me just put this in perspective here. I am in favor of this amendment. The reason I am in favor of it is that the whole notion of a visa refusal rate, if you understand that, means almost nothing, because if 100 people show up in an…

what everybody ought to focus on is that in this bill is the mechanism to move us from this visa refusal rate process, which is irrational, to a visa overstay process, which is a rational basis for determining whether a country ought to…

I understand the historical reason that it was done. In fact, it was done because the Court of Federal Claims could have jurisdiction over the claims part of an issue, but they did not have the constitutional authority to declare statutes…

I share the gentleman's objective. He should be aware that there is a solution, there is a constitutional solution that would eliminate the shuffle. We are not opposed to eliminating the shuffle. Our solution would be to give jurisdiction…

the primary purpose would be to remove the discretion for a litigant to go to the Court of Federal Claims or to the U.S. district court, which I think is an unconstitutional discretion, and still give to a litigant the right to take their…

I do not think that concern has been addressed at all. I assume the attorneys general are still concerned about the constitutional ramifications of this bill. I have not seen anything that eliminates that concern. Let me tell my colleagues…

Mr. Chairman, let me just submit to my colleagues that what would be pernicious is not the provisions of this amendment. What would be pernicious is if our country put somebody to death, and then found that what they were being put to…

Mr. Speaker, today is the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party. I think that President Lincoln is turning over in his grave today, because this proposal flies in the face of the legacy of President Lincoln, the…

I too rise to pay tribute to a great American, Sam Johnson. He is a dear friend, and certainly a true profile in courage. Tomorrow marks... the worst kind of punishment.

I just want to say, people keep saying that. Understand, the Mexican border, the entry system is already in place. So this notion that we are delaying and it is just applying to equally is just not true.

I do not believe there is a Member of this House who over the last 5 years has risen in defense of the United States Constitution more than I have. I honestly would tell the Members if I thought statistical sampling was unconstitutional…

I do not want to prolong this, but as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims on the Committee on the Judiciary, I just want to make it clear that Peat Marwick has just finished the report and issued it. There were…

What we need to put in context, however, is that Pookies' Parcel Post and Lulu's and Anita's are all private enterprises in this country. This is one of those times when this notion that we should privatize everything that the Federal…

as vigorously as I rose in opposition to the juvenile crime bill, H.R. 3, do I rise in support of this bill, which authorizes prevention programs that will prevent juvenile crime rather than reacting after the fact when it is too late. My…

this chart tells the whole story. This is the percentage of the tax cut benefit that goes to the middle 60 percent of the people in this country, 60 percent of the people who work every single day. They are not on welfare. They work. Under…

the last time this issue came before Congress I voted to extend MFN trading status to China. I felt that engagement was our best hope for getting China to act more responsibly on issues of human rights, international affairs, and…

I have been engaged in a long-standing debate with my colleagues on the Republican side of this House about the definition of what is conservative and what is liberal. And every time I come here, I try to start this way so that I put this…

the budget agreement has over a 5-year period 135 billion dollars' worth of tax cuts. Eighty-five percent of those tax cuts go to the 5 percent of the richest people in America. How can we give $135 billion in tax cuts when there are…

some people will say that this is the Black Caucus budget, but the truth of the matter is, this is the America budget. The Black Caucus is the only organization which has stepped up to the plate and met the challenge of balancing the…

I still think even in that collaborative process in a number of States, rural interests tend to be overrepresented, and it is not something that I can scientifically prove to the gentleman. I can just tell the gentleman that in a number of…

let me start by saying that we have never postured this as a choice between just the worst possible bill in the world and the status quo. It was my colleagues on the other side who did that. This bill is marginally better than it was last…

Guess which State in the Union has the most aggressive juvenile justice laws? The State of North Carolina. If we measure it based on who tries and convicts more juveniles as adults, it is North Carolina. One-fifth of the juveniles tried…

We are down to definitely a maximum of 11. And understand that there are four criteria that a State has to meet to get these funds. What we found out was that North Carolina, as aggressive as we are, as much as North Carolina supports the…

I want to correct my colleagues on one point. They keep saying there are 12 States that qualify. I want to assure them that North Carolina was included in the list of States that, according to the report, qualified, but I have a letter…

for the first time in this House I am going to speak from the Republican side, because I want to remind my Republican friends of a few things. Mr. Chairman, let me put this bill in historical perspective. Go back through the whole history…