But the problem we have this year is that this is a historic Congress. We are getting ready to vote tomorrow on an historic vote on opening an inquiry of impeachment of the President. But this, more than any Congress, has done nothing at…

I want to make a few points about the Republican bill would do to State-passed patient protections and share with my colleagues concerns that have been raised by officials in my own home State. And, again, we discussed this before, that…

And the Senate could take up the bill number that we passed over there and put real reforms in that bill. What we did is wrong because it is a step backwards. But the Senate could change it and pass real patient protections and send it…

this Congress made a commitment to save and protect Social Security for the future. It is one of the most successful domestic programs that has ever been created, but now, according to my Republican colleagues, we have a surplus, which…

I know if he gets $31 million, I know where he is taking it out of. He is taking it out of inner city schools like I represent. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) represents a very suburban district. If that is the intent of this bill…

I share his concern. Not being on either foreign affairs committee but from the Committee on Commerce I have watched, and the concern I have is that when we are dealing with the central Asian republics and the republic of Turkey, we cannot…

Last week, the Tuesday before we came back into session, four Members of Congress from the Houston area met with over 100 people to discuss an important issue that is facing the American public. That public meeting was about managed care…

it is important for every American to be counted. How can Congress determine what a community needs if we really do not know how many people are in that community? It is estimated that the 1990 census undercounted the population in my…

I want to make a few points, because I think the gentleman led into the concerns I had with the bill that we passed, literally, on the Friday of the tragedy that occurred here in the Capitol, make a few points about the Republican majority…

Managed care reform is not about politics; it is about people. We have a responsibility to guarantee the American people top quality health care. We have a responsibility to protect our children from negligent medical decisions made by…

for months we have heard and been hearing about how expensive the Patients' Bill of Rights is. The insurance industry, managed care organizations, HMOs, and big business have repeatedly tried to scare the American public, saying that the…

I find it ironic that the same people that preached and lectured this Congress about the importance of personal responsibility and accountability for one's actions during the welfare reform bill are taking the opposite position on managed…

it took months of drafting and redrafting and threats and rejection, but last night we got our first look at the Republican managed care proposal. While the final details will not be worked out for another month, the rough draft is not…

it is time to bring managed care reform legislation to the floor. The quality of medical care for our citizens has declined considerably, and it is time to act now. Some patients are not getting the best medical care possible. Medical…

There is both positive and negative reinforcement in this tour. Another stop will be at Columbia Lighting, represented by the IBEW, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 716. The company tried to decertify, but they lost…

I thank our Democratic whip for organizing this special order in recognition of June 24, when American workers will use the day to celebrate victories we have had in protecting the right to organize and bargain collectively to improve…

too often from these microphones we hear what is wrong with our country, and today I want to talk about what is right with our country. In Houston this week we are celebrating the kickoff of the 1998 Jimmy Carter and Habitat For Humanity…

that is so important just to open the lines of communication. Again, HMOs have cut the cost of medical care, and they have done a great job. But we can have some guidelines for them to where we can have better quality care and still have…

We are in a long-term debate, I guess, on campaign finance reform. We call it 'death by amendment,' because the seriousness of the campaign reform issue is so important, and yet our colleagues on the Republican side are the ones that have…

I think that is ironic, because the gentleman and I know, as Democratic Members of Congress, oftentimes we have been accused of not trusting the States and local control. I bring to Congress 20 years of service in the Texas legislature…

I am opposing this rule and opposing the Istook amendment. It is hard to stand up here... we should go into a room and pray on our own and not necessarily have to do it like we are doing it today.

I have no problem with that. They have that right. But they do not have the right to stand up in an algebra class and do it. But they have the right to pray on their own. And so we have to have some reasonableness applied to it. We have…

hidden in today's Washington Post is an article that Speaker Gingrich sent the Republican Health Care Reform Task Force of the Republican Conference back to the drawing board. It is another attempt of the Republicans to destroy-by-delay…

we see the House Republican leadership and the tobacco industry are united in their message. They are both attacking big taxes, big government, and saying there they go again. Tobacco companies have full page ads in newspapers all over the…

like a lot of my colleagues today, I would like to thank both the Chairman and our Ranking Member and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the fine work on H.R. 2400. I believe it is good not only for our Nation but also…