this legislation requires that not one penny of this can be spent unless we bring back offsets agreed to in the conference with the House and the Senate. It was felt by our leadership that we might as well do this in conference once…

many years ago, Joseph McCarthy in Wheeling, West Virginia stood up and waved papers and said he had the names of 57 Communists in government. Well, he got lots of headlines but, of course, he was eventually proved to be a liar. I am…

ten years ago today, Congress and the nation lost a true patriot. James J. Howard was a dear friend of mine and should be remembered as a tremendous public servant of the people of New Jersey, and of the entire country. For more than 20…

Ronald Reagan is, in my estimation, the greatest president in our times. He came in fighting big government. In fact, he noticed that the government in Washington had the notion that, if it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it…

I would like to set the facts of the record straight. If indeed this bill has been made partisan, it is only because our friends on the other side choose to make a naming bill partisan. Let me share with the body the facts in the previous…

I must rise in reluctant but very strong opposition to this amendment, because we believe it is simply a circuitous way to kill this bill. It is very clear that when we passed the legislation creating the Metropolitan Washington Airports…

I simply wanted to make the point that there is nothing in the law that requires small businesses to change the signs. If I had a small business, I would use my signs and stationery that I had; and when it was appropriate and when it ran…

I want to reiterate the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's exclusive jurisdiction of the traditional activities in the facilities and equipment account. Because of our Committee's desire to expeditiously consider H.R. 1271, it…

Mr. Speaker, at long last we have an Amtrak reform bill here on the floor which has strong bipartisan support. It is a bill which has the reforms in it which are so necessary. It is a bill which provides for the board, which is the…

I am sure it is well-known that from the very beginning my objective has been to save Amtrak, although there are some in this body and the other body who would just as soon see it go into bankruptcy. And to save it, we have said from the…

I want to clarify the intent of certain provisions of H.R. 1270, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997, that are within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. A savings clause, section 207, has been included…

I want to deal with this issue of how much it costs Amtrak to lay off workers and the argument that it hasn't really cost them anything. It begs the question. In fact, it is a red herring. The very fact that 6 years of labor protection and…

Mr. Chairman, I must rise in opposition to this amendment. This amendment will destroy the labor reforms in the legislation, leaving in place the status quo that has helped bring us to the brink of bankruptcy with Amtrak. Indeed, this…

Mr. Chairman, initially I want to thank the cosponsor of this amendment, my fine colleague, the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. Traficant]. I also want to commend the chairman of our full committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Bud Shuster]…

I want to save Amtrak. That is what we have been dedicated to. Now, I can tell you, as I am sure many of you know, there are some in this body that do not want to save Amtrak. In fact, I was in a meeting this morning with several Members…

H.R. 2516 is an extension of the current ISTEA programs for the 6-month period October 1, 1997, through March 31, 1998. The bill provides one-half of the funding allocation for surface transportation programs in the fiscal year 1998 budget…

the war risk insurance program has been a relatively non-controversial program. It was first authorized in 1951 and last reauthorized in 1992. Since 1975, it has been used to insure more than 5000 flights to trouble spots such as the…

I rise in support of H.R. 2207, the Coastal Pollution Reduction Act of 1997. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Representative Romero- Barcelo, amends the Clean Water Act to allow a community in Puerto Rico to apply to EPA for an…

we should not be beguiled into thinking that because the cold war is over that we face a safer world in which we live, because in many respects it is just as dangerous or even more dangerous. Two threats that I want to focus on are the…

The enactment of reforms for Amtrak is absolutely critical to the future of intercity rail in this country. Amtrak, as it is currently structured, cannot survive into the future. My committee produced reform legislation in the last…

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I rise tonight to express my very, very strong support for the Shuster-Oberstar-Petri-Rahall amendment as a path to ensure that the transportation needs of our Nation are addressed. If we are to compete with the…

I rise today to alert our colleagues that we will be faced later today with the single most important transportation and infrastructure vote not only in this Congress, but for the next 6 years, because the vote today on transportation…

We may disagree and have different opinions, but I am sure my good friend would not want to misstate the facts. When we hear that Federal Express is not an express company, that simply is factually incorrect. There is no reclassification…

I was quite surprised to hear this legislation attacked by my good friend from New Jersey when indeed both New Jersey Senators not only support this legislation, but Senator Lautenberg, who has dedicated his life to transportation safety…

I rise in support of S. 1505, the Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1996. The bill authorizes the pipeline safety program for 5 years. It ensures and oversees the safety of our Nation's gas and hazardous liquid pipelines…