Burgess Owens

everybody says that they want to do things for young people. They recognize they are a special problem. But when you have a perfect program like YouthBuild, we have a great deal of difficulty getting it continued and expanded. YouthBuild…

I want to appeal to the conferees to please hold the course and not water down this bill any further. There is an education state of emergency in many American communities. There is an education state of emergency in the African American…

I want to say that we have passed a bill for $74.6 billion, the Federal Government's involvement in agriculture, and the farmers of the United States are less than 2 percent of the population. We take good care of our farmers and they give…

we are about to enter our July recess for the 4th of July holiday, and it must be noted that this Congress has completed two major legislative developments to date. One of those, of course, has been fully completed: the tax bill. That is…

we had a major education bill on the floor for consideration, and we did not permit a single amendment to deal with school construction, renovation, or school modernization. We were afraid to have the issue presented on the floor. I think…

the spirit of Tiananmen Square, blind and extreme, has invaded decisions about energy policies in California. The same spirit of the tanks in Tiananmen Square has invaded the latest decisions with respect to Vieques in Puerto Rico. Both…

this motion to recommit adds a vital component that has been left out of our deliberations so far. We were not allowed to offer an amendment on the floor dealing with school construction, renovation or modernization, and this motion to…

I would like to note first that this amendment represents blazing guns of an ambush of what was supposed to have been a bipartisan compromise. This is a partisan ambush, this amendment. We agreed several years ago that a good alternative…

So for all who are listening, no matter where you are, it is important to note the fact that we celebrated. We celebrated the fact that students, teachers, librarians, all over the country came to the aid of those of us in Congress who…

I would like to use most of my time to talk about education, but I think it is important to begin by setting the discussion on education in the proper context, within the proper context of what is developing here in Washington and in the…

Is the Speaker saying that I cannot talk to the students of America? The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would advise that and the gentleman must address his remarks to the Chair and not to persons outside the Chamber. The gentleman may…

tyrants in control of totalitarian countries like China, Serbia and Iraq consider control of the airwaves an absolute necessity. They ruthlessly enforce censorship of a kind few of us can imagine in America. Last Monday, however, I had the…

Would he like another study? Or does he want to repeal it forever and ever? This is off the table forever?

in the President's address last night he reaffirmed the fact that education is one of his top priorities. It appears from the speech that the President made that the only priority which ranks above education is the tax cut that is being…

for the past few years, the American people have, through numerous focus groups and polls, sent a strong message to all elected officials. Government must do more to improve education. Government at every level, the local level, the State…

Mr. Speaker, it is not exaggerating to say this is legislation that will save lives. I rise in support of H.R. 5178. This legislation will significantly improve the health and safety of health care workers by reducing accidental…

the process is a betrayal. The process by which this important legislation has been brought to the floor is a betrayal of all of the reasonable Members of this House who are ready to move to meet an emergency. We understand that there is a…

we are about to approach the end game negotiations, probably behind the scenes, the end game negotiations on the budget, and the appropriations process has started already. We have gone through a process of preparing a budget which sets…

the previous speakers have greatly overstated their case. The overkill is amazing. To protect the Government's interest, laws have been on the books for decades requiring that the Government can only give Federal contracts to responsible…

$1.3 billion is a very tiny amount, but it is one step forward. $1.3 billion is $1.3 billion above zero. The Republican majority has offered nothing. This small step to take care of emergency repairs will open the door, I hope, to an…

greed has rolled in like a bulldozer over all of the numerous logical reasons supporting the denial of a permanent trade agreement with China. The mega-profits to be realized by the corporate elite are so overwhelming that this juggernaut…

The crux of the argument that is being made tonight is that we should not take the Federal monies that are appropriated primarily to help the poorest students in the poorest communities and water that down, spread it out to communities…

Since we are paying tribute to teachers today, I just want to make certain that that point does not get lost. That is that many teachers who are now employed as teachers, as well as many students who are considering teaching, they point to…

The mission of our budget is clearly, the Congressional Black Caucus Budget, an advocacy budget. It advocates for those that are left out and forgotten, the poor in general, and more specifically African Americans and other neglected…

common sense and logic dictate that we should build into our economic policy a simple way to share in the great prosperity that this Nation is presently experiencing. A minimum wage increase is the way to share our great wealth with the…