I would start by observing that the Enron debacle is obviously devastating in many ways to many people. One of the most devastating ways is the way that collapse has shaken public confidence and really raised the question about financial…

I would tell the gentlewoman, having supported this provision since we first considered this bill last year, I assure the gentlewoman that I agree with her. This provision rightfully preserves the current status of real estate escrow…

Mr. Speaker, I think the case has been made very clearly that it is long past time to repeal this really archaic Depression era law that no longer serves any useful purpose, if it ever did. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

We have before us today a wartime budget. The fact is that is a difficult task to put together. We have done the responsible thing of assembling just that. It fully funds our national priorities with significant increases in defense…

we all know we have got a weak economy right now. The slowdown that began in September of 2000 accelerated in September of 2001, and the result is that hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their jobs as a result. What is our…

today I would like to engage in a discussion about the economic situation we find ourselves in, the state of our economy and what it is that we are going to do about it, what we have done about it in the House, what needs to be done by the…

I think it makes perfect sense. We have already demonstrated in the House that we fully recognize, our society wants to be there for people who lose their job and who are making every effort to find another one. Unemployment benefits…

That is exactly right. Reclaiming my time for just a moment, when the President, President Kennedy at the time, made that observation, he was correct. He initiated a round of tax cuts that generated this prosperity. It is interesting that…

Ironically, their inaction can guarantee a longer period of time when people are out of work while they have not done anything to help even those people. It is absolutely unacceptable.

In 1944 there was a good reason. At this point we are not at that level where the expenditures justify that, that level, and certainly the taxes cannot be justified at this level. You are exactly right. I would make one other observation…

There just cannot be any question that the capital gains tax is really an irrational tax. In the first place, it is a punishment for saving and investing. Now, what society really wants to punish people for saving their money and investing…

I have heard people suggest that if we cut the capital gains tax rate, it might be bad for the stock market. [...] But it is exactly right.

the gentleman's points are very well taken. Regarding class warfare, the gentleman from North Carolina made the argument that lowering the capital gains burden helps low-income and moderate-income people. It is a job-creation engine. It…

That is absolutely another way to describe it. Another way that I think about it is there is this barrier between buyers and sellers, between consumers and producers. The barrier is the cost imposed by government. It is not only taxes. It…

If I could reclaim my time for a moment on that point, as the gentleman from Arizona and my other colleagues know very well, the bill that we passed in the House contained a measure to expand and extend unemployment benefits and even…

No, it has been a staggering massive increase. And I think most of us feel it was necessary. These are areas that it was appropriate. But has it gotten the economy out of this recession? No.

Now, we recognize there is spending we need to do right now, in intelligence gathering, in defense, in homeland security. It is critical. It is increases. We all voted for it and we are going to keep voting for it. But that is all the more…

Well, the gentleman is exactly right. I would just conclude with one other thought. You know, many of the fundamentals for our economy are actually quite hopeful. There is reason to believe that we could come out of this and we could have…

it is true; there are hundreds, there are thousands, of good and decent people who are losing their jobs across the Lehigh Valley that I represent, certainly across Pennsylvania and across America. These losses are hitting our families…

people across America, across Pennsylvania, across the Lehigh Valley and Upper Macungie, the valleys that I represent, are losing their jobs in very disturbing numbers. In October, we had a record high numbers of Americans who lost their…

Why do we need medical malpractice reform? It is simple. Medical malpractice awards are out of control. Medical malpractice awards are draining millions of dollars from health care and putting it into courtrooms and trial lawyers. They are…

let me remind my colleagues and put this in some context, we have a $1,900 billion budget, plus or minus. We are contemplating $1 billion of the $1,900 billion that is going to be spent. Let us keep in mind also that the reduction is all…

First let me say that I recognize the need for the additional defense spending that is in this bill and I support that, and this amendment makes no attempt to offset that necessary increase in defense spending. My concern, however, is the…

My daughter is about to turn 1 year old. It reminds me how fleeting childhood is, how brief is that moment in a child's life to have the opportunity to get the education that a child needs to have the opportunity to live a good life and to…

An important point to remember is that the death tax which the gentleman is referring to, which is the tax whereby at the occasion of a person's death the government comes in and confiscates up to 55 percent of everything that person has…