David Thomas

now we are beginning to make some progress. I thank my colleague the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) because, as we heard him say, he is not coming back so he wanted to speak from his heart. What we heard from his heart was that we…

I think what we owe the American people, the veterans, the military retirees, is the truth, and I have not heard much of that here tonight. The idea that military retirees, if the Taylor amendment passes, can now go to military hospitals…

I am excited that we are launching ourselves into what may be a week or more of debate and discussion and, hopefully, success in the area of education and educational funding. Looking back over time, I think there is probably no other…

This vote will clearly highlight those who want to do something about the marriage penalty, who want to do something about tax simplification, tax fairness, and those who do not. Marriage should be a sacred event, not a taxable one. We…

it is my understanding our focus this week will be on the budget, as it should be. One of the things, of course, that is very necessary is to address the budget each year, and one of the things we haven't done that we should do, and are…

I wanted to come back this afternoon--I talked some this morning--to talk about this bill. It is a very important bill to us. It is one that provides an opportunity for us to have local television in rural areas. There is great support for…

On April 24, 2000, the Library of Congress will celebrate its bicentennial. With House Concurrent Resolution 269, we commend the Library and its staff for two hundred years of service to the Congress and to the American people, and…

I speak in favor of the flag protection amendment to the Constitution. It is an honor for me to be a cosponsor of this constitutional amendment, 1 of 58. Most everything has been said, I suppose, that needs to be said about it. Of course…

The Senator is correct, of course. There are a great many things that could happen. We have low-sulfur coal, which is very clean, but it is relatively low Btu. You can do some things to enrich the Btu's. One of the problems is…

we are here, of course, to talk about oil prices, high oil prices that affect each of us. Let me start by recalling that less than 2 years ago, in 1998, we had what was considered to be the largest oil collapse since 1900. The price of oil…

This has been a long, twisted road that really should have been a relatively short driveway in achieving today's presentation on the floor of the House. As was indicated, this was an attempt to resolve land use conflicts that developed…

we have seen in the last several months, and I suspect we will continue to see from now until the end of this administration, a considerable effort to implement programs that bypass the Congress, programs that, indeed, bypass public input…

I suppose I might have a different view than what we heard in the last 35 minutes, about what a wonderful budget we have and that we can now return to the era of big government. Not everyone is happy about that, as we might have heard over…

in this coming session--which is going to be relatively short, as it always is on election years, but particularly this year--we have to focus if we intend to accomplish things. I hope we do. As is often the case in election years, there…

Unfortunately, one of the issues that continues to show up and seems to have nine lives--or more than nine, is the matter of gun control. We have seen it every session a number of times. I am sure we will see it again. I think it is…

I believe all of us want to find a better solution to illegal gun use. We intend to do that. People in my State believe more laws are not the answer, that, indeed, the enforcement of gun laws is the answer. We are pleased to see that the…

I tell my friend, the gentleman from Tennessee, that if this resolution was the first section only, which reads, ``Take all necessary steps to begin meetings of the conference,'' that would have been a voice vote and it would have been…

Mr. Speaker, this is, once again, the kind of political move that belies the argument that people want to come to a successful conclusion on a Senate-passed bill and a House-passed bill. We would have no ability whatsoever to reconcile the…

I would only note that the gentleman who just spoke said that he hopes the bill that comes out of conference resembles Dingell-Norwood. If this motion to instruct passes, it has to look exactly like it. So I think it is fairly clear that…

Public lands, of course, are very important to those of us in the West. As was pointed out, 1 out of every 4 acres in this country is owned by the public. My State of Wyoming is 50-percent owned by the Federal Government. Idaho is some…

I will take a little time to talk a bit about our agenda and the things I think most of us hope we will accomplish during this coming legislature. There are some who believe we won't accomplish much. It seems to me that is not a good…

I had the opportunity this weekend to spend some time in my home State. I can always pick up things about which people feel strongly. They want to see the budget signed. There are differences of view as to what that budget should…

Mr. Chairman, this debate is getting a little bizarre. As the gentleman from Massachusetts well knows, the Beck decision applies to nonunion members, to those who are not members of the union. The whole point is, the coerced union dues are…

I yield myself 1 minute to give an example of the kinds of things that we propose in the Thomas substitute that simply have been overlooked for more than a quarter of a century. When one makes reports, there is no requirement to show…

I find it amazing that the First Amendment protections are now called a loophole. Perhaps it is a good idea that we are just voting on campaign reform because, if the Bill of Rights was on the floor, I would fear for its continued support.