Thomas Mott Osborne
The Public Record
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August 3, 2015
Shall our prisons be scrap heaps or human repair shops?
— Thomas Mott Osborne
Most widely reported
by number of sources- I represent a rural district that has only small Class IV airports, none of the 142 larger ones. These smaller airports are not subject to a uniform set of security standards under the substitute amendment. This is precisely what our problem is today, we have no uniform standards. The Young-Mica bill sets uniform standards for all airports, not just a select number. On September 11, the most prominent of the 19 hijackers boarded a plane at a smaller airport, flew to Boston, hijacked a plane and crashed it into the World Trade Center. Hijackers will enter the airport system at the weakest points, quite likely a small, relatively unsecured airport. Under the substitute, once past the security check point, a passenger can move freely throughout the system. The Young-Mica bill closes this loophole. Every airport manager in my district supports the House bill for the above reasons.2 sources2001govinfo.gov
- I was privileged to hear British Prime Minister Tony Blair speak in this Chamber a few months ago, and one comment he made particularly caught my attention. He said, ``As Britain knows, all predominant power seems for a time invincible, but in fact, it is transitory.'' I think what he was saying is that essentially nothing lasts forever, including great nations. History teaches us that, most of the world's great powers are not overcome by external force, but rather disintegrate internally. And let us take a quick study of three such examples. Rome, of course, 2,000 odd years ago, stood astride the then- civilized world and appeared to be invincible. Yet it fell from preeminence, and the reasons historians have given us, there was a general decline in morality, increasing corruption and instability in leadership, an increasing public addiction to ever more violent public spectacles, an increase in crime and prostitution, and a populace that had become more self-absorbed, apathetic, and unwilling to sacrifice for the common good.2 sources2003govinfo.gov
- underage drinking flies under the radar screen for most people. Alcohol is legal and widely accepted by adults, and yet many times we do not realize the devastation that this is causing for young people. The average at which young people begin drinking is 12.7 years of age, and that age is declining annually. Binge drinking is something that is very common among young people. On average, teenagers drink more by double what adults drink per sitting and per consumption. Teens who start drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to become addicted to alcohol than someone who starts drinking at age 21 or later. Prevention efforts have been, I would say, very minimal. The Federal Government currently spends about 25 times more annually to combat youth drug use than to prevent underage alcohol use. Alcohol is a gateway drug. Usually those who begin to use cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine do not start with those drugs. They start with alcohol. Television ads for alcohol products outnumber responsibility messages by 32-1. In other words, those ads that promote the consumption of alcohol are 32 times more prevalent than those ads that urge restraint, responsible drinking or discourage underage drinking. From 2001 to 2003, the industry spent $2.5 billion on television advertising and promoting their product and only $27 million, a mere fraction, on responsibility programs.…2 sources2006govinfo.gov
Dec 7, 2006
Underage drinking currently costs the United States $53 billion annually, according to one study. According to the American Medical Association that figure should be $61 billion. And in the State of Nebraska, which I represent, that…
Nov 15, 2006
2 weeks ago I visited Israel, spent about 12 days there, and traveled the whole country. We started in the northern part, up around Caesaria Phillipi, went down to Elat on the Red Sea, went to Jerusalem, went to Tel Aviv, talked to the…
Nov 14, 2006
I rise in support of H.R. 864. As many have pointed out, underage drinking certainly flies under the radar screen, because alcohol is legal, and it is widely accepted. I understand the objection to new spending, a so-called new program. I…
Sep 28, 2006
I would like to particularly address title VIII of the Older Americans Act, entitled ``The Federal Youth Coordination Act,'' which has been referred to previously. I, along with Pete Hoekstra, Mr. Payne and Mr. Ford, introduced the Federal…
Sep 27, 2006
As you mentioned, H.R. 4750 is a study as to how to more efficiently utilize water between Harlan County Dam in Nebraska and Milford Reservoir in Kansas. The reason this is so important is that Nebraska and Kansas signed a compact in 2002…
Sep 25, 2006
So, Mr. Speaker, what we are looking at now is the sixth year of severe drought in essentially the same parts of the United States. So this cumulative drought, in many cases by most estimates surpasses the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s in…
Sep 7, 2006
I thank the chairman. In Nebraska, we have a great many horses that are used for roping, cutting horses, riding horses and quarter horses. Not many racehorses. These horses are primarily for a function, and when a horse can no longer…
Sep 6, 2006
yesterday, I attended a funeral of the Staff Sergeant Jeff Hanson from my district in Nebraska who was killed in Iraq last week. His death was the 29th soldier from Nebraska and the 14th from my district. My district is largely rural. We…
Jul 25, 2006
I would certainly yield the extra time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Foley). The gentleman from Pennsylvania is recognized for 1 minute.
Jul 25, 2006
I would like to once again congratulate Alpha Phi Alpha on their 100 years of service. I thank Mr. Hinchey for introducing the legislation, Mr. Davis for his management, and also his recitation, which was quite inspiring, and the other…
Jul 25, 2006
During the month of August, most Members of Congress will be in their districts, and the thing that those of us in the middle part of the country will see is what is reflected on this map which deals with the drought. We see some brown…
Jul 18, 2006
I request to address the House for 5 minutes. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Westmoreland). Without objection, the gentleman from Nebraska is recognized for 5 minutes. There was no objection.
Jul 18, 2006
many of us have been impacted, directly or indirectly, by diseases like juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease, and so on. I have friends, as many people here do, who have had these diseases, and my heart goes…
Jul 18, 2006
as has been mentioned, I have served as a cochair of the Iraqi Women's Caucus. Some people may say, well, why would you have a Women's Caucus? The reason is at one point we were meeting with Paul Wolfowitz, and Paul was mentioning the fact…
Jul 11, 2006
I would like to thank Mr. Gingrey for yielding me time. I also thank Chairman Oxley and Representative Goodlatte for their work on this bill, and Representative Leach and many others. Mr. Speaker, I would like to emphasize that this is a…
Jul 10, 2006
the average time spent playing video games for the average young person age 8 to 18 years is 49 minutes a day, just a little bit less than an hour a day. Ratings of video games are made by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, also…
Jun 21, 2006
as an older American, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5293, the Senior Independence Act, which reauthorizes the Older American Act. And I want to congratulate Chairman Tiberi, who is not an older American, but he is getting there, as well…
Jun 21, 2006
Thank you, Mr. Bartlett. I appreciate your expertise, your knowledge in this area. And my remarks will be relatively brief because you are the one that truly understands your bill and understands the research much better than I. But I…
Jun 20, 2006
today we have two funerals occurring in Nebraska in my district. The two soldiers being buried are 22-year-old Specialist Benjamin Slaven, Plymouth, Nebraska, a reservist who was killed south of Baghdad on June 9; a 19-year-old Corporal…
Jun 15, 2006
I spent many years in coaching. Every Monday morning after a Saturday game, I got lots of mail telling me what I should have done. None of those letters helped me very much, because the game was over; hindsight was always perfect. And the…
Jun 14, 2006
immigration has been the number one concern of many Americans in recent months. The House passed a bill last December which dealt mostly with tough border security. It provided for more Border Control agents, a 700-mile fence, different…
Jun 13, 2006
I would like to thank Mr. Davis for his participation. It seems like we often are involved in these kinds of issues together. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr…
Jun 8, 2006
people in my district, which is largely rural, want and need broadband services just as much as people in urban areas; yet according to a recent report, almost half of rural Nebraska communities only have one broadband Internet provider…
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