Earl Blumenauer

Our Republican friends have no credibility on fiscal affairs. They had three times to take a bite at the tax cut apple in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. They ducked solving the looming AMT crisis, instead implementing a grab bag of tax…

I am pleased that after 12 years of not just ignoring the needs of working men and women and their needed labor protections, but actually what we have seen is a concerted, specific program that has undermined those rights, I am pleased to…

This agreement cements this important political relationship with a key Southeast Asia partner and demonstrates a roadmap for other former enemy countries to repair relations and proceed together along a mutually beneficial path. It…

I was not disparaging the gentleman. I was talking about his cases that he advertised.

It is time to stop this charade on immigration. Since the Republican leadership is unable to reach an agreement with its members, or even their Republican president, they have become more interested in producing harsh rhetoric and…

I personally feel more comfortable about that. I didn't know it when I claimed time in opposition because I had some outdated information. I didn't realize how fast this legislative train was rolling, but I feel better now. Mr. Chairman, I…

We are having some interesting ongoing conversations with the Department of Transportation. I went across the street to visit with him at FTA immediately after the enactment of the legislation. There is no need for us to delay this process…

I just want to clarify in my own mind. I heard Mr. Kolbe say that the effect of our amendment, there were about 900 million, if I heard him correctly, that was unallocated at this point. There is some report language in there that talks…

As I yield the gentleman from New York 4 minutes, I would give myself 30 seconds to make two observations. One, there will be no aid to Hamas, whether this bill passes or not. It is against United States law to give assistance to a…

I want to understand this because I think it is very important. My understanding is the reason the offset of $440 million is required is because they are not going to spend more than $77 million this next year; is that correct?

Last week President Bush said that we were going to bring our troops home, but it is going to be a problem for the next President. This is not a strategy to win the peace; it is just running out the clock and letting the next coach play…

There is no place more sacred for me than the Vietnam Memorial. A close second is the Lincoln Memorial. I visit and run by these poignant places on our National Mall on a nearly daily basis when Congress is in session. When changes to the…

It is a great irony that the day of Coretta Scott King's passage is the same day 141 years ago that the House of Representatives passed the 13th amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery. That the Constitutional amendment passed by…

As we approach the last week of our work this session, there are 2 million people trapped in the unfolding nightmare in Darfur; 500 people a day being killed as we prepare for the holiday season. Since we are going to be delaying the work…

Despite our recent flood insurance reforms, Katrina revealed that much remains to be done. Damage on a massive scale triggered payouts and borrowing that mean the program must be revised, including a significant one-time-only subsidy. We…

When it has never been clearer that the United States needs to catch up to the rest of the world dealing with energy efficiency and global warming, even the supporters of this legislation agree with the taglines in the New York Times and…

The previous colleague who was concerned about this said it was time to rebuild the locks. It betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of what the project is. The project is not about rebuilding the locks. We have been doing that over the…

I have long admired the services of the many Boy Scout volunteers and have benefited from the organization myself. It is sad that their good works have been clouded by a policy that governs who can participate in the organization. Until…

Is it not true that, in both the House and the Senate version of the transportation reauthorization, there are a vast number of specific projects, new starts, that are multiyear in nature and that cannot proceed in the absence of their…

H.R. 4571 is a thinly veiled attack on the trial lawyers at the expense of injured plaintiffs. By requiring mandatory sanctions that would apply to civil rights cases, H.R. 4571 will prohibit many legitimate and important civil rights…

There is a certain humor in the Bush attacks on Senator Kerry's budget plans. The Bush administration, after all, has the most reckless fiscal management in our Nation's history. It has produced the largest deficit, after turning the…

Last night the House approved disaster assistance for citizens in Florida. Our hearts go out, for it is appropriate for us to step in and do what we can. But we need to do more. There is a big difference in loss from storms, floods and…

I find that this is extraordinarily elusive. And the reason it is elusive, and the reason that animal fighting continues in this country to be a problem, is because Congress does not step forward to stop it. There are, make no mistake…

House Resolution 685 is an alternative to the Republican leadership's failed economic policies. Unbalanced priorities, escalating spending, and three rounds of tax cuts have led to the highest budget deficits in history while shortchanging…

I voted against the amendment because while the Abu Ghraib prison abuses should not be part of the United States' policy, the evidence is not clear that it was not part of the policy of the Bush administration. Given the disturbing…