Steve Israel

I reclaim my time. The gentleman still has not told us what earmark that he has requested is so vitally important that it should not be scrutinized.

Will it end the war tomorrow? Absolutely not. Will it end it next week? No. Is it one good, reasonable idea that will lower the temperature in Iraq, that will reduce the animosities that are flaming out of control there? I believe it will…

I believe that without sounding overly enthusiastic, that in the past hour there was more bipartisan, reasoned, rational discussion of ideas to move us forward rather than left or right than has happened on the floor of this House over the…

I thank the gentleman. And, again, this was just one idea. And the true value of the Center Aisle Caucus and this kind of dialogue, this unprecedented dialogue, and civil dialogue between Members on both sides is that we all have good…

I wish we understood those lessons here in the United States Congress. Because if you take a look at those lessons of history, the Cold War, The Space Raid, World War II, all of the great challenges that confronted Congresses in the past…

Tonight we may do something that may even be unprecedented. Tonight, for the first time that I know of, Republicans and Democrats take to the floor of the House to discuss Iraq, but not to criticize one another about Iraq, not to beat each…

I will wrap up. We have heard this evening that this resolution enjoys bipartisan support and support with Members with different ideologies. The cosponsor of this amendment, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), and I have different…

I appreciate it. The gentleman is correct. That is, in fact, exactly what we are trying to get at, and that is embodied in this resolution, and I want to thank the gentleman. This is an example of where Republicans and Democrats can agree…

I fully respect the views of the gentleman from California, but I do get troubled when I hear anybody on this floor questioning the commitment of any other Member of this floor to our troops. I did not suggest for a moment that the other…

we are all so proud on both sides of the aisle of the work that our servicemembers are doing in military theaters abroad, in Iraq and Afghanistan and so many places around the world. And we should be just as proud of the work they do when…

I want to begin by setting the record straight. I have heard my friends on the other side talk about this resolution as calling for withdrawal, as calling for retreat. There is nothing in this resolution that says withdraw; there is…

as we debate this rule and debate how we are going to debate this rule, an F-16 is burning 25 gallons of fuel every minute. A Stryker combat vehicle on which our troops travel is traveling at the rate of about 7 miles per gallon. I was on…

Mr. Speaker, last year the Department of Defense spent $10.6 billion on basic energy costs. That is what it costs the military to fuel itself. Of that, the Air Force spent $4.7 billion, about half on one thing: fuel for its airplanes. With…

One of the most critical obligations we have, in my view, is keeping our country strong and safe, making sure that our military continues to be the strongest and greatest on earth; making sure that our children, as they advance in years…

I want to thank Chairman Pombo and Ranking Member Rahall for bringing this bill to the floor today. I also want to thank my colleague from Connecticut, Representative Simmons, and the rest of the members of the Long Island Sound Caucus for…

everything that can be said has been said. We have no speakers, and I yield back my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the…

I rise with respect to this resolution, H. Res. 861. Mr. Speaker, I pride myself on being unapologetically supportive of a robust military. I do believe that President Wilson was correct when he said the United States can help make the…

I spent some time this evening with the gentleman and with one of our best generals, and he was telling the story of visiting with a critically wounded soldier in a military hospital and walking out with that soldier's mother. And the…

I don't think I need 1\1/2\ minutes to make my point. I think this is rather clear and rather simple. I was in Iraq about 3 weeks ago when a bipartisan delegation was sent to urge the leaders of the Iraq Government to show respect and…

I did not become involved in the issue of TRIA because of my seat on the House Financial Services Committee. I became involved in it because my district is located approximately 50 miles from Ground Zero, because I represent over 100…

on Monday, the distinguished members of the 9/11 Commission released a scathing report card on the lack of progress the administration has made in implementing their 41 recommendations for improving the security of our Nation. The grades…

what we are debating here is what is affordable, how much is enough. Middle-class families know the answer. If you are in the middle class, you are too rich to be eligible for Federal programs, but too poor to be able to keep up with the…

Republicans began this week when one Member accused the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), me, and Democrats in general of being anti-Christian. The gentleman retracted his comments. They are ending this week with Karl Rove…

the words that we heard, as unfortunate and as hurtful as they were, as the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) says, testimony for the passage of our amendment. I have never heard it suggested that by somehow saying that with a personal…

And would the gentleman state how long Members of Congress actually had to read that $2.5 trillion budget?