this week, America is united in mourning for President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan will be remembered as a great optimist who helped convince America to believe in itself again. He believed that the Cold War would end and the Berlin…

As a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats, I believe the product before us today is, on the whole, a solid proposal. This committee pledged to make this year the Year of the Soldier, and I think we…

Mr. Speaker, this bill was rammed through the Committee on Armed Services 2 weeks ago without a single hearing. Without a single hearing. I guess it should not be a surprise because it seems that time and time again the leadership has…

I rise tonight to honor a true hero, Marine Corporal David M. Vicente, who gave his life in service to this country in Iraq. Corporal Vicente was a resident of Methuen, Massachusetts; and he was deployed with the brave men and women…

I think clearly all of us should have been able to sit down and come up with a resolution that would be united and that would send a clear voice to all of the world how much we support our troops. We are going to have 4 hours of debate…

that is precisely why I could not vote for it. We were supposed to have this money appropriated. We have troops over there in unarmed vehicles. It is inexcusable.

we have a simultaneous war on Afghanistan and Iraq, and I will be brief, but I had to call a family today in my district. Evan O'Neill, a 19 year old, great kid, was killed in Afghanistan, and I had to talk to his father, Mike. His mother…

I compliment my colleague the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel) for his leadership and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt) and the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie). We were at a House Armed Services Committee…

there was an amendment by the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) tonight before the Committee on Armed Services, and I know the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) can attest to this, where all we are asking is how have they…

I rise in support of the Tauscher-Markey amendment. As the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capability, I know that the threat of weapons of mass destruction is real. In Iraq this country's…

I rise to honor Patriots' Day and express my strong support for H. Con. Res. 149--a resolution expressing support for the annual celebration of Patriots' Day and honoring the Nation's first patriots. As Massachusetts citizens, every April…

Look, there is no need for a definition of what negligence is in this amendment because negligence has been established in case law all across this country in all 50 States. All 50 States have case law that determine what the standard of…

I would suggest that Officers Ken McGuire and David Lemongello from New Jersey have a right to have their case heard, and their case should not be thrown out because of this underlying bill, which would take away their right to be heard…

I do not think any industry should be given blanket immunity for its negligence, especially when it results in the deaths of innocent people. My amendment would allow the victims of gun violence to recover damages from the manufacturers or…

let me ask a question. What about the case of Ken McGuire and David Lemongello, two New Jersey police officers shot in the line of duty and seriously injured at this moment in time? They want to file a civil suit. Is that a frivolous case…

I rise to commemorate the 87th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and pay my solemn respects to those who lost their lives because of their ethnicity. The Armenian Genocide was a terrible tragedy that must never be forgotten. On April…

I agree with the underlying bill as well. I congratulate the bipartisanship of the Committee on Ways and Means for coming together to put together a good bill; but, unfortunately, there is a provision in this bill that even if Members…

This is a limited amount, $10,000. It cannot go for television ads, it cannot go for radio ads.

I am happy to respond to the gentleman's inquiry, and the answer is yes. Political action committees, commonly known as PACs, raise money from individual donors in amounts that are limited by Federal law. They are subject to the Federal…

Soft money has always been available for party-building. It has always been available for physical buildings. Now, would not the Republicans be so lucky if we are going to enact this bill the day after the next election. Does anyone really…

if the gentlewoman thinks soft money is okay, why does she oppose the $10,000 limit?

Organizations may run any ad they wish at any time at all if they use hard money. Federal PACs, such as those in corporations, labor unions, or groups like the Sierra Club or the NRA have set up, are hard-money entities. All their…

I do think the FEC standard should understand that the language reads not identifiable but clearly identifiable. There will be some photographic images that would not meet the clearly identifiable standard. So I do think that the FEC…

It is clear under Federal election law that only hard money can be used to pay off a loan that was used for hard money expenditures. There is nothing in the Shays-Meehan Substitute that would supersede the current Federal law. Under this…

what I was referring to was the principles on the concept of campaign finance reform, the principles of the concept. That is what I referred to. That is what we are debating. It is not personal, it is substantive; and we are going to…