I rise today to speak to my colleagues about two items. First, I wish to congratulate the House on the passage last evening of H.R. 3103, the Health Coverage Availability and Affordability Act. For the first time in this Congress we have…

I rise to support the Archer- Bliley bill, which will be the antidote to the problem we have in the United States of making sure we have sufficient coverage for all Americans. As my colleagues know, the United States spends far more per…

I speak of FDA reform, Food and Drug Administration reform. We know that many Americans are waiting for the approval of drugs or medical devices, because FDA has been so far mired down in overregulation and delay. I believe that it is a…

I agree with you. You are absolutely right. The fact is that when it comes to the tax reform, it is going to help most Americans. And we have done it after we have already taken the spending cuts, $190 billion, deficit reduction of $90…

On the school lunch program, what I think is exciting about the new Congress is that in the 104th Congress, in a bipartisan fashion, we have seen the school lunch and the WIC programs, how we have expanded the amount of money for those…

The fact is the gentleman is absolutely correct. It was we Republicans who led in this Congress for several issues before we even got to Medicare. We are the ones that said we want to roll back the 1993 unfair tax on Social Security when…

I will say, in summation, the spirit of voluntarism also is alive and well in Montgomery County, PA, where we have hundreds of organizations working to help with shelters for the homeless, food cupboards, you name it, health care. They are…

The fact is that our local communities, local officials, schools, parents, teachers, they know best what they need in their community. If it goes through all the layers... there is $30 billion a year right now in fraud, abuse and waste…

The fact is the Republican majority has led the way to protect seniors, not only having in that legislation all the things we discussed previously, but also a clause to return in case there has to be a further increase if we have not been…

I rise in support of the foreign sovereign immunity amendments contained in this legislation. We must make foreign state sponsors of terrorism responsible for their actions. Recent events make clear now more than ever the grave threat…

What is interesting is we can still balance the budget and still have the safety net for those who are in need. This is a compassionate country, and this Congress does care but it does not mean we need to spend money on every program…

Frankly, we are looking to the point that the status quo does not live here anymore; how can we make the Congress more responsive, how can we make sure that we in fact look forward to some substantive and important changes. That is why…

I rise to support the Gilman resolution. The terrible devastation of Israel, with the fourth attack on the innocent Israeli victims, which has killed 61 people, injured 190 people, is certainly something this country, the United States…

like you, I was shocked and deeply saddened when I heard about the fourth suicide bombing which took place on the Eve of Purim in Tel Aviv's shopping district. The once-solid confidence of the people of Israel and of the pro-Israel…

I wanted to reclaim the time because one of the other items I thought was very sensitive in the legislation dealing with welfare reform, that is, making sure teenage moms who need health care, formulas for their children, clothing, under…

And with two other programs which have been adopted, that one is soon to be signed by the President hopefully, as soon as the compromise version is agreed to, but two other bills I think of note that this 104th Congress has passed and the…

I know that we can achieve, as far as I am concerned, the balanced budget that we talked about at the top of this hour if we continue making sure that we find the common ground, that we work overtime in making sure that the issues that we…

What is interesting is the President and the First Lady a couple a years ago said the way to solve the Medicare crisis is to make sure we control the rate of growth, and that is exactly what the majority proposal was and is, so hopefully…

You know when we talk about the environment; you know Earth Day is coming up in April; it occurs to me that for us to continue the environmental movement started some years ago and to carry on the issues that Major Carson, an environmental…

I am sure your colleagues would want to have updates on a regular basis of what is happening with the Everglades, and it will be important to the body.

I want to change gears if I could to go back to something I heard you speak about on the House floor recently, and I helped vote and work for the bill that you introduced to save the Everglades. While the Everglades are not in my part of…

Thank you, Mr. Riggs, the gentleman from California. Your comments were right on when it comes to the fact that most citizens want to make sure the raise they get stays in their pocket so they can spend it for their family, their…

I join with Congressman Foley in his astute remarks regarding our need for prayer for the families of those who were killed and those who were injured senselessly in Israel in recent days and weeks at the hands of the Hamas. We certainly…

Well, we passed a version early on in the 104th Congress, first session. The Senate passed a slightly different version. But I am hopeful that this bill will get to the President and a compromise version after the conferees have met…

I think that will come with our legislation to have sunset review and also working with Congressman Mica in regulatory review, because many times I have seen where we have had Federal regulations introduced, there are already State…