Tony Hall

The bill expresses the support of Congress for expanding the number of members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It recognizes the importance of admitting seven specific nations in Central and Eastern Europe. This legislation is…

I think the longer that we keep this piece of legislation from passing in this Congress the more kinds of civil wars we are going to see in Africa; and it is just horrendous, when you see these people, how they have had their lives…

The substantive part of the bill which they are sending back to the Senate has to do with blood diamonds. Blood diamonds are diamonds that are used to really fund wars in Africa, particularly in Sierra Leone, in Angola, and in the Congo…

This is a restrictive rule. It will allow for the consideration of H.R. 2647, which is a bill that funds Congress and its legislative branch agencies in fiscal year 2002. [...] I think if the American public saw how the process really…

Mr. Speaker, foreign assistance is important to all Americans. As the last superpower of the world, the United States is the only Nation with the ability to provide significant humanitarian assistance throughout this world. This helps…

Mr. Speaker, before I yield back the balance of my time, I would simply say that if I were to believe what has been said in the past few days, even the past couple weeks, even some of the stories I have read in the news, if I were to…

I did not have to think too long or hard about it because I have had a lot of experience with faith-based programs and people of faith. I admire them and what they do. I am involved with this issue because I am determined to see an end to…

Mr. Speaker, we live in a time of unparalleled economic growth. Never before has any nation experienced the prosperity this country now enjoys. We can afford investing in our future. However, once again, we are faced with an appropriations…

This bill funds construction of highways and airport facilities and transit systems. It supports Amtrak, Federal rail programs, the air traffic control system, and transportation safety and research for all modes. It is no exaggeration to…

I oppose this closed rule, I oppose the declaration of war and the use of U.S. ground forces, and I oppose the motion to withdraw from our efforts to liberate Kosovo. I support the current air campaign, which is already weakening…

If we compare ourselves with the 17 major nations of the world, we rank seventeenth in our appropriation to foreign aid. We need to do better. We need to quit running from this issue. We need to stand up and support it. There are a lot of…

I oppose this restrictive rule, and all the Democrats on the Committee on Rules opposed it. A total of 32 amendments were submitted to the Committee on Rules. By permitting so few changes in the bill, the House will not be permitted to…

This rule will allow a debate on H.R. 2578, which is a bill to extend the visa waiver pilot program. The bill extends for 2 years the visa waiver pilot program started in 1988 and said to expire April 30, 1998. Under the program, tourists…

Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill creates over $1.2 billion in new mandatory spending, offset by administrative savings from the food stamp program. Programs to be funded with those savings, however worthy, should not take precedence…

I am a firm believer that if we invest in the poor through programs such as microcredit and basic education, child survival types of activities and rural development, if we help the poor to gain access to the marketplace and share in the…

I just want to correct that particular statement and say that the bill is a high priority from the standpoint if you are an environmentalist and really care about these lands. On the other hand, the bill can wait and it is not necessary…

There is an amendment that has been printed in the Record by the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox]. That is, there is an amendment and it is amended by myself. I believe the amendment is with the Clerk at this particular time. I have…

This bill aims to speed up the adoption process of children in foster homes. In my own State of Ohio, there are 17,000 children in foster care. Of these, nearly 1,800 are awaiting adoption. This bill is intended to help these children and…

This procedure is simply wrong. A compassionate society should not promote a procedure that is gruesome and inflicts pain on the victim. We have humane methods of capital punishment, and we have humane treatment of prisoners. We even have…

However, I am disturbed with the levels appropriated under title II of Public Law 480 Food for Peace Program which provides American-grown food to foreign countries to combat hunger and malnutrition. With the greatest agricultural…

H.R. 3286 provides a tax credit to parents of an adopted child of up to $5,000 to cover certain adoption-related expenses. H.R. 3286 aims to bring more children from foster homes into loving families, which should be an important goal of…

I look at raising the minimum wage very simply. I have just met a lot of people around the country, at different food banks and soup kitchens, and they are not making it. A lot of them are working poor, and sometime during the month they…