if the Speaker takes the Member at their word, obviously we are dealing with either confusion or some other circumstance. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is not stating a parliamentary inquiry.

I think each of us enjoy walking on a trail, learning a little more about our Nation's history, or perhaps paddling a canoe on a lake, river, or stream. Often we take part in these activities in our national parks. This week, April 22 to…

I bring forward an amendment this afternoon to talk about my concern with the process we are going through. We started out with a request for $92.2 billion in emergency spending--$20 billion for hurricane recovery, $72 billion for the war…

I call up amendment No. 3615, which is at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report. The bill clerk read as follows: The Senator from Wyoming [Mr. Thomas] proposes an amendment numbered 3615.

I will comment generally on the issue before the Senate, the issue of supplemental emergency spending. Obviously, these last number of years we have had some emergency activities. Whether they be the war on terror or Katrina, they are…

today I rise to introduce a taxpayer privacy bill. Much attention has been focused recently on IRS-proposed changes to regulations regarding taxpayer privacy. Interestingly, these proposed changes have been widely--and…

as the world now knows, early Saturday morning in his sleep, Buck Owens let go of the tiger's tail. What people probably do not know was what happened on Friday night. Because as Buck usually did, he acted naturally. He went to his Crystal…

as many of you know, I am co-chair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus and have worked on rural hospital and provider equity issues for a long time. Of course, the Senate does not always agree on every issue especially when it comes to…

this is generally known as the miscellaneous trade bill. We do this virtually every year. It consists primarily of those bills that, on their own, don't have any opposition, but standing alone, would have a difficult time in the…

I will express some anxiety about the fact we are not moving forward with legislation we need to be considering. Interestingly enough, I came from a briefing upstairs by the Secretary of Defense and the general from Central Command. It…

I would feel a whole lot better about this debate if it were being carried out in October or November and we had a chance to actually make some permanent changes in pension law prior to the first of the year. We are now in March. Frankly…

this is really an exciting time in which we recognize the continuing maturation and involvement of a new nation, yet a nation of people who have deserved better over many decades and are now beginning to see the fruit of their struggle…

I know we will not be in very long today. As a matter of fact, I am going to Wyoming in a little bit. There are some things I have wanted to talk about for some time, and since we have some time this morning, I thought I might take a few…

I join with my friend from Idaho as a cosponsor to this bill on endangered species. He and I and others have worked on this for a good long time. Both of us have been on the Committee on Environment and Public Works. We are no longer…

I have a few issues to discuss in morning business. First, I desire to be more positive than what we have been hearing. It makes one depressed to hear the negative discussions. There are quite a number of positive things happening in this…

it is obvious the gentleman from New York wants to make sure you do not hear this. As I said, you do not need 12 minutes to say this: If you vote ``yes'' for the Democrat substitute, you are increasing taxes over 5 years by $40 billion…

I do not need to mention yesterday or the 414 who voted to fix this problem. I would tell my friend from New York that you only need 60 votes outside of a reconciliation to pass this. But I do want to mention 1985. The Tax Reform Act of…

who has the time? The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized.

Either he was voting to protect the incomes of the very rich in Massachusetts or he exercised a futile procedure. There were four Members of his party who voted no. He had an opportunity, if he believed it was not real to vote no. He voted…

will the gentleman yield? I thought the gentlewoman from New York indicated she had one final speaker, and that final speaker spoke, Mr. Pomeroy.

this is a bill that does not deserve the kind of rhetoric that is being delivered so far, at least that which I have heard on the rule. This bill consists of extending current tax provisions. It virtually breaks no new ground. It merely…

Whose time is it, Mr. Speaker? The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gingrey). The gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) has the time.

Notwithstanding the equal time, Mr. Speaker, if the gentlewoman says it is a final speaker, we normally honor that. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The gentleman from New York is recognized for 3 minutes.

here we are again, faced with another opportunity to make it more difficult for us to meet our needs in energy. Interestingly enough, people on the west coast who need the energy more than anyone seem to be pushing for this. There is a…

as we get to that amendment on windfall profits, I hope we will take this into account. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.