as I said earlier, we must bring the misinformation campaign and partisan wrangling to an end. There is no question that there are groups and individuals out there who would seek to do America harm. There is no question that my colleagues…

later today the House will have an opportunity to vote on a strong new FISA bill that has been negotiated over the last couple of weeks. The new legislation will modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. First, it rejects the…

as a recipient of the nastiest attack ad in the last election cycle, I was sad to see this past weekend that it's already started. Yes, the Swift Boat crews were out and at it again, this time trying to convince the American people that…

What it is about is does a person in this country have to follow the laws of the United States, follow the rule of law, follow the Constitution and abide by a legally administered subpoena. And I guess the best way to talk about that is to…

Mr. Speaker, if we have learned anything since the terrorist attacks of September 11, it is that the balance between security and civil liberties is not only difficult, it's absolutely critical. Providing this 3-week extension will do…

the economic stimulus package that President Bush will sign into law today is a bipartisan victory for the American people. This broad-based stimulus package will provide tax relief of up to $600 per individual and $1,200 per married…

But no one in this Chamber has the market cornered on that. That is something that I think universally throughout this Chamber there is a strong desire to fulfill. That is why we are here. We are here to protect and defend our citizens and…

I would submit that I agree with him that the FISA bill is necessary for the security of America. No one questions that. No one on our side of the aisle questions that. The question that we do have is does the Senate bill actually take…

my colleague seems to be asking us to rely upon assurances given to us by this administration, this same administration that has told us about weapons of mass destruction, the same administration that told us that Iran was building a…

7 years into his Presidency, President Bush is finally urging reform of the earmark process. He is a little late. Congressional Democrats have already begun reforming the earmark process. We realized reform was necessary after the number…

all year this Democratic Congress has worked to live up to our promise to move the Nation in a new direction. In many ways, we have been successful, raising the minimum wage, fully implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations, and…

Frankly, all we have heard lately, especially in the Rules Committee debate, is that this bill is not going to pass the Senate, this bill is going to get vetoed by the President, and therefore the House should follow what the Senate is…

The measure we will consider today contains many needed revisions to the terrorism risk insurance program to ensure our national and economic security. The terrorism risk insurance program was originally enacted as a short-term backstop…

the Democratic Congress is wrapping up its first year with a proud record of providing real support for our Nation's veterans that starts to make up for lost time. We have passed historic increases in veterans health care benefits totaling…

so the record is clear, as the distinguished chairman of the Military Construction VA subcommittee, Mr. Edwards, so eloquently stated many times right here on the floor of this House, there is a clear difference between the new Democratic…

we must consider this conference report which provides funding for our Nation's priorities. For example, Community Development Block Grants to provide communities with funds to assist low and moderate-income persons; housing for the…

House Resolution 817 provides for consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 3074, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. I want to thank the distinguished chairman of the…

Mr. Speaker, this bill, the Transportation-HUD appropriations bill, like very few other things that we as a body deal with, deals and helps and touches many, many millions of Americans, whether it is CDBG money that goes to help the…

regardless of how my colleagues choose to characterize it, the new Democratic Congress has an impressive record of honoring our veterans and our troops. Since taking control of Congress, we have provided real support for our veterans by…

I'm sorry, 3.9 percent. The problem is that that 3.9 percent can go to the people who are unemployed and, frankly, do nothing whatsoever for them because they are out of work as a result of loss of jobs, the people in upstate New York, the…

You talked in your statement about the increase in the middle class of China, and that's a wonderful thing. But I'm concerned about the middle class here in this country.

earlier this week, President Bush proposed that our Nation spend another $196 billion in Iraq next year. Today we will spend $330 million fighting the war in Iraq. Imagine that. Every day, $330 million in taxpayer dollars is going to Iraq…

we have heard so much today from the other side about the fear that they have that this provision will somehow put Americans at risk. And I think it's very clear that what this FISA bill does is protect America, give our Intelligence…

It is sad that my colleague attempts to change the actual meaning of what this statute does. It gives no protection to terrorists. It gives protections only to Americans, and it keeps us safe and it gives us the protections that are…

over the last 7 years, President Bush has only vetoed four bills. The President's first two vetoes involved legislation that would expand Federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, which has the potential to unlock the doors to cures…