history shows in the last 10 years that we are increasingly taking the budget process here less and less seriously. This week's alternative from the Republican Party will be no exception. It is an alternative that will actually increase…

if the Republican leadership wanted to work on a bipartisan expression of support, we would have been able to get some place today. They could at least have had an opportunity for Congress to step back and examine what we have learned. We…

if anyone needed an example of how Congress misses opportunities to make a difference, they need only to look at today's discussion of H.R. 339, a fast food tort reform bill. The very title invites parody. At a time when obesity is the…

the general election for President is basically starting this week. The Democrats have selected their nominee. The President is out campaigning. But I hope that we will be able this week to take a pause before the action gets too heated to…

I oppose H.R. 1997, the so-called ``Unborn Victims of Violence Act''. Since the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, Congress has slowly passed legislation to erode women's reproductive choices. This is a personal and private…

we have much serious business to attend to on Capitol Hill these days. Many of us on our side of the aisle are deeply concerned about the Bush economic picture, how sad it is for most of America, including my State, which has struggled…

I rise this afternoon with some good news and bad news for Amtrak. I congratulate Amtrak for having the highest ridership ever experienced in the Nation's intercity passenger rail service in its 32-year history. In my region of the Pacific…

listening to the President's State of the Union speech and the Republican leadership in Congress, I have been struck by the false choices and misplaced priorities that have been presented to the American public. We heard pledges from the…

it is a sad commentary on the performance of the Republican leadership who control the White House and both Houses of Congress that they still cannot get the appropriations work done on time. I voted against several of these measures as…

a drama is taking place about the future, not just of America's economy, but the global marketplace. A metaphor for this drama is the role that Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, plays. Since its founding by Sam Walton in 1962, it has…

The very able and capable staff of the committee has reminded me that yesterday we had on the floor a bill dealing with flood insurance which has a mitigation program; and although they have done mighty work, to date they have only secured…

the problem of forest fires in the West that are aggravated, in some cases caused, by human mismanagement has been a problem as long as I have been in Congress. I am pleased that with the work of Oregonians Representative Peter DeFazio…

I rise in support of H.R. 3181 the Predisaster Mitigation Reauthorization Act. The purpose is to reauthorize predisaster mitigation which provides assistance on a competitive basis to States and localities to undertake hazard mitigation…

I am afraid the gentleman from Louisiana fundamentally misses the point for why we have a flood insurance program. I find no small amount of irony that it was the late Hale Boggs who was one of the first three sponsors of the flood…

I just wanted to comment briefly because it is hard to get through things very quickly, but one of the things that was in my notes that I wanted to acknowledge was that this bill is a very different bill because of the contribution the…

today on the suspension calendar H.R. 253, the Two Floods bill, is an opportunity to reauthorize and reform America's flood insurance program. It is a great opportunity to build on the legacy of the late Hale Boggs from Louisiana who…

I spoke against this bill when it was on the House Floor and, unbelievably, it's gotten worse in Conference. I am frustrated that on the week before Veterans Day, the conference report keeps moving further away from what the military…

I came to Congress to help the Federal Government be a better partner with local communities, to make them liveable, to make our families safe, healthy and economically secure. The simplest way to achieve that objective does not require…

I must come to the floor in deep disappointment... the commitment that was made to a bipartisan majority of this Chamber has been violated.

the fact is, that this problem is part of the consequence of the decision of people who are running the show here in the House to systematically shortchange fundamental needs of the American public by moving forward with massive tax cuts…

as we have watched the terrible news coming from Southern California, our hearts go out to the thousands of families that have been displaced. Lives have been disrupted, and in some cases people have died. It is much too early to make…

the evolution of the gay and lesbian civil rights issue has touched my notion of fairness in government policy in very profound ways. Since I chaired the Oregon Legislature's first hearing on nondiscrimination some 30 years ago, I have…

Congress will provide the necessary support for our troops and we will make a significant investment in stabilizing and rebuilding Iraq. The question before Congress is how best to provide that troop support and how to make the appropriate…

But the fact remains we are investing more than 15 times as much in Iraq as in Afghanistan. We cannot spend all that money in Iraq in the next year. We can put more money on the ground to help this troubled nation. And I look forward to…

it was wrong to give this administration a blank check to wage unilateral war, and it is wrong to give them a blank check to rebuild Iraq. Total spending in Iraq is now approaching $200 billion of borrowed money, with no end in sight. We…