I am here today to add my voice to those celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Grand Excursion of 1854. This was an important journey in the upper Mississippi River valley that incorporated rail and steamboat travel and went from…

in my tenure in Congress, I have been dedicated to reforming many aspects of the health care system to promote the highest quality health care benefiting the greatest number of Americans. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that the HEALTH Act…

my congressional district lies a long way from the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but on September 11 all of America was a victim of this deadly and unprovoked attack. The next day, my office was inundated with calls from young men…

I would like to commend the young men and women of our nation and my district who risk their lives daily to protect our nation from global terrorist networks wishing to do us harm. Our men and women in uniform's selfless dedication…

I stand before you today to show the American people what the Republicans in Congress really stand for. This welfare reform bill perpetuates the misconception of the stereotypical welfare recipient and does little to actually help those on…

the devastating acts committed against the United States on September 11th will never be forgotten. Today we remember those who perished in the attacks and extend our continuing support to their families. We honor and thank thousands of…

H.R. 3645, the Veterans Health Care and Procurement Improvement Act of 2002, as reported, deserves the support of every Member of this House. When enacted, H.R. 3645 will improve the delivery of important benefits to veterans, expedite the…

Today's seniors increasingly depend on prescription drugs to live healthy lives. But with prescription drug prices skyrocketing, medication is out-of-reach for too many of our Nation's seniors. All too often, we hear of seniors on tight…

this welfare re-authorization legisation does nothing to prepare welfare recipients to leave welfare and enter the workforce and it is an profound fiscal burden on our state governments. I believe that since we reformed welfare six years…

Congress has long supported the sharing of scarce Federal health care resources between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In fact, Congress vested both Departments with broad authority two decades…

making last years tax cut permanent endangers our ability to fund many of our shared priorities and is fiscally irresponsible. I joined many of my fellow colleagues in opposing last year's tax cut because we knew it would cause a budget…

this is truly an Enron budget. The Republican Budget Committee has cooked the books and produced the most seriously flawed budget in my career. The accounting gimmicks are spectacular. We have a 5-year budget instead of the customary…

once again the Republicans have presented an economic stimulus bill that falls short in aiding those most affected by the recession and continues to reward the wealthy and traditional Republican party donors. Under a ``compromise'' plan…

here is another issue in which our leadership of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs is paying off, to the great benefit of our veterans. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), on every piece of legislation today that we are offering…

my district is composed of hard working Americans who build tractors, refrigerators, and furnaces. Blood, sweat and tears are what brings home the bacon in my district. But their way of life is endangered by both this bill and our flawed…

this rule prevents consideration of an amendment the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) and I would have introduced to strike Colombia from this trade preference due to their horrendous record on labor rights. This bill allows…

I salute the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Smith) as well. He has done excellent work in bringing this bill about on a very short basis. We know the gentleman has outlined it pretty well. I wanted to just offer a few random thoughts…

As the son of a firefighter, I was never so proud as I was of what firefighters did yesterday; but I believe all of our law enforcement officials, doctors and nurses, blood donors and volunteers, deserve to be saluted as well. Mr. Speaker…

there should really be no debate about stem cell research, given the immense promise that it holds for a number of diseases. This is an issue that is of paramount importance to millions of Americans who stand to benefit from this…

This measure, H.R. 1696, will expedite the construction of the new national World War II memorial in the District of Columbia. I commend my friend from Arizona for his leadership on this issue and am honored to manage this measure with…

this vote today is a vote on whether we are truly dedicated to the hard work of getting full accounting of our missing from the Vietnam War. As the Veterans of Foreign Wars have stated, passing this resolution of disapproval will only hurt…

Madam Speaker, the measure now before this House names the outpatient clinic in Rome, New York, after Donald J. Mitchell, a former Member of this House. This is a well-deserved tribute for a truly outstanding American. A naval aviator…

Madam Speaker, last fall I introduced H.R. 3193, the Duty to Assist Act. This measure provided a statutory requirement for the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans filing a claim for benefits administered by the VA. This…

Mr. Chairman, this week the House passed an amendment to the VA-HUD appropriations bill that enables the Department of Justice to pursue its pending litigation against the tobacco industry. This lawsuit seeks to recover billions of dollars…

I completely agree. These opportunities have been squandered because the priority of the Republican leadership has been to provide huge tax cuts to the wealthiest of all Americans. Dollars earmarked to tax cuts are not available to fund…