Sylvester Turner

I know all of us have been confronted with that front group called Citizens for Better Medicare, which there is no citizens there. It is just the big drug companies pouring money into these issues, trying to influence the outcome of…

It is good to join my colleague here on the floor tonight to talk about the important issues that are still pending before this Congress that have not been acted upon. Here we are, very near the end of this session of Congress, and still…

I rise in support of H.R. 5210, which names a postal facility after George Atlee Goodling, the father of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling)... Clearly, both Goodlings served with distinction in this House and served the people…

I rise to honor the efforts of thousands of firefighters who have struggled against one of the worst fire seasons in decades. In Texas we saw over 31,000 fires destroy almost 600,000 acres of forests, grasslands, homes, and businesses. The…

Mr. Speaker, S. 1707, as has been mentioned, is intended to enhance the independence of the Inspector General of the Tennessee Valley Authority by making the position presidentially-appointed. Under current law, the Inspector General of…

it is an honor to rise in support of this legislation this evening. I join in the remarks of those who preceded me. I thank each Member on the floor who has worked so hard to bring this bill to fruition. I particularly want to thank the…

that sounds like a good competitive program, because they have got traditional Medicare there to keep the private HMO industry honest. What would happen to us if we did not have traditional Medicare in my rural east Texas district today…

The Medicare program probably never would have been passed in 1965 if the private insurance industry could have taken care of the health care needs of our seniors. That is why we passed Medicare, is because private insurance would not…

I had a similar experience to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett). I talked to a lady in August during my tour of the district when I was going around to 40 communities talking about this very issue, and she came up to me and she said…

Whether or not you need some help in being able to pay for prescription drugs just does not depend upon your income; it depends on how sick you are. That is one of the beautiful things about our Medicare program that was established in…

It is amazing to me how hard the pharmaceutical industry is fighting to preserve the status quo. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) mentioned Citizens for Better Medicare. The first time I ran into that group I thought this must be a…

I want to rise and join with the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) in strong support of this legislation, H.R. 4931, and urge its adoption. I want to commend the gentleman from California (Chairman Horn) and the gentleman from Indiana…

I just want to say when I heard the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) talking about the issue that it is so very true that private insurance companies are not the answer, and I think our senior citizens understand that. I think they…

I really do hope that we can get a plan that is meaningful passed in this session of the Congress. There is no reason we cannot. I think what we went through the week before last on this floor was disappointing to all of us, seeing that…

I am a pretty trusting person, but the truth is the Congress did exactly what the State legislature in Nevada did that had been proven through their experience was not going to work. And the same insurance company executives, the same…

I come to the floor tonight during this special order hour with my colleagues... to talk about the problem of the high price of prescription drugs being paid by our senior citizens. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk a little bit as we begin…

last night on this floor, the big drug manufacturers won a big victory, and our senior citizens suffered a big loss. The big drug companies spent $100 million on a lobbying campaign that paid dividends, but only by a margin of three votes…

the House leadership has twisted the rules today so that we have only one choice: their bill or no bill. So let us talk about what their bill does. First of all, it gives millions of dollars to insurance companies instead of giving it back…

tonight we come to the floor to talk about an issue that many of my Democratic colleagues have been talking about for over 2 years, the problem of high prices of prescription drugs for our senior citizens. We are here on the floor tonight…

I come from a district where the average household income is just over $21,000. We know that less than 2 percent of all American families ever owe an estate tax. I can say that in the second district of Texas, it is less than that. H.R. 8…

if we deny PNTR to China, businesses, workers, farmers and ranchers in my district in East Texas and across the Nation will lose the benefits of a trade agreement that, on its face, is very favorable to the United States. Unlike the NAFTA…

American families deserve an honest budget based on realistic and conservative estimates of the surplus, a budget that takes a responsible approach to protecting Social Security and to ensuring that our children will not inherit a big…

That point is certainly well taken. I think the benefits of paying down the debt maybe are not quite as obvious to the American people as we need to try to make it. Most of the people I talk to in my district are fiscally conservative…

Mr. Speaker, this bill attempts to deal with a problem in Terre Haute, Indiana, represented by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pease). This problem he faces is not unlike a problem that many of us have or will experience in our own…

I had the opportunity over the last few weeks during our August recess to stop in 70 communities in my east Texas district, and I did a little coffee shop tour and I went around and visited with folks in those coffee shops where we all…