Joseph Skeen

this amendment has a lot of value for the rural parts of the United States. We have a program in New Mexico that was patterned after the same one that the gentleman is headed for. We accept the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, the Committee of the Whole has had this bill under consideration for 2 days. We have consumed about 11 hours of floor time so far. We have disposed of 10 amendments by recorded votes and we have reached page 14 of a 70-page…

As Members know, our citizens of the great State of New Mexico mourned the death of Congressman Steve Schiff earlier this year. Steve was one of the most distinguished colleagues of this honorable body we proudly call the ``people's''…

as the dean of the New Mexico delegation in the House, it is my distinct pleasure and honor to welcome and congratulate the newest Member of the House of Representatives, the Honorable Heather Wilson of Albuquerque, New Mexico…

I tell the gentleman that that is correct. The subcommittee is concerned that the NRCS has undertaken and has been asked by Congress to carry out a number of functions complicating their ability to fulfill their longstanding role of…

due to tremendous resource constraints and competing priorities, the Committee on Appropriations was forced to offset the costs for existing programs and other new initiatives by eliminating this new and vital research program.

I will work with him to ensure that our farmers and ranchers will have the needed assistance to meet present and future environmental demands. I would also hope that OMB would reexamine the impact of their decision on reimbursement levels…

our great state of New Mexico is mourning the death of the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Schiff), one of our most distinguished colleagues of this honorable body we proudly call the United States House of Representatives. Steve has been…

I rise in strong support of ending the Tucker shuffle. I do so based on a simple and a powerful premise, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which currently states that no person shall, quote, be deprived of life…

I support the override of the President's veto. I rise in support of the override of the President's veto of H.R. 2631, the military construction line-item disapproval bill. Passage of this legislation is necessary to correct the mistakes…

I am here today to support passage of S. 430, a bill amending the New Mexico Statehood and Enabling Act of 1910. The entire New Mexico delegation supports this legislation as well as Gov. Gary Johnson and the State legislature.

I am also concerned about these new conservation offices using $22 million of our taxpayers' money. I assure the gentleman that our committee will review this issue. I have no intention of spending $22 million if it is not a constructive…

contracting out would be a good way, in my opinion, to try to collect on these loans. It is my understanding that the USDA has the authority now to contract out but has not yet engaged in any such contracts. And, like the gentleman from…

Let me close and let me state the facts, the facts, once again. This bill does not force anyone to be taken off the program. I do not know where they are getting this information, but we have two statements of administration policy from…

The committee shares their concern; and in its report accompanying the bill, it addresses this issue with respect to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. And in the report, we have directed the agency to enhance its accountability…

I tell the gentleman from California [Mr. Farr] that, yes, I agree that the lettuce farmers would be greatly aided by the filling of this position.

The gentleman is correct. ARS could use existing authority and these funds to contract with universities to undertake appropriate portions of their proposal.

I regret that the subcommittee could not include funding for this project. It suffers from the fate of many worthwhile projects, as was mentioned by the ranking member. There is just not enough money to go around. However, I am sure that…

Let me first assure the gentleman that I have worked closely with the Department of Agriculture in arriving at the current appropriation level. I am satisfied that, although less money will be allocated to the FSA under this bill, the…

Once again in the affirmative, yes, it is important that the research be conducted in the field under real farm conditions for the best achievable and quantifiable results. Research in the field is where farmers will have quickest access…

I appreciate that, and I am in total sympathy with it, but I think at least we can do the colloquies tonight and get those out of the way so that we can get to the substance matter. If the gentleman from Wisconsin would agree to that, I…

as dean of the New Mexico delegation in the House, it is my distinct pleasure and honor to welcome and congratulate the newest Member of the House of Representatives, the Honorable Bill Redmond of Los Alamos, NM. Mr. Redmond won last…

I sincerely believe there is no need for anyone in the United States to go hungry. I can tell my colleagues that our committee has funded the WIC Program as our No. 1 priority. All other programs in our bill have suffered because of our…

the vote is in and the people have spoken in New Mexico's Third Congressional District, and they are sending another Republican to Congress. I would like to congratulate the gentleman from Los Alamos, NM, Bill Redmond, for winning New…

This conference agreement has programs that benefit every one of our constituents and their lives every day no matter where they live or what they do. I respectfully ask that we get an ``aye'' vote on the conference agreement on H.R. 3603…