A person who works 50 hours a week, say a retail clerk, and brings home $40,000, $50,000 a year in a good union job. That is possible. Let us not even go to the issue of someone with a very large income and someone with a modest income…

Very interesting. They do polls and they ask the American people, how do you think we should deal with the Social Security situation? The one alternative is to raise the age at which they get benefits. The other solution is to cut back on…

I find it very ironic and interesting that time and time again, and I guess we are not going to have time today to talk about corporate control over the media, a very dear subject to me, but I find it amazing that we hear Social Security…

It is my belief, and I know I speak for my colleague as well, that if working people and middle-income people and young people get involved in the political process, if they let the Congress and the President hear from them, if they make…

What is really very clear, I do not think there is any debate on this, is the Speaker and the House leadership understands that if that bill came before the House, as the gentleman has just indicated, the vast majority of the people would…

That is, Mr. Speaker, in the last election, 36 percent of the American people voted. That means almost two-thirds of the American people did not believe it was important enough for their future to come out and vote. What is even more…

The current situation regarding U.S. troop presence in Europe is very strange, because many countries in Europe are now far wealthier than the United States and are more than able to defend themselves. They do not need us. In Europe…

this Nation already has the most unfair distribution of wealth and income in the entire industrialized world. Given that reality, it is absurd that some in Congress are talking about giving huge tax breaks to some of the wealthiest people…

Mr. Speaker, the Constitution is very clear. It is the United States Congress which has the power to determine issues of war and peace and to decide whether our young men and women are put in harm's way. It is the President who is the…

let us be clear. This budget is a disaster for American veterans and this rule is a disaster for veterans. And that is why this rule is being opposed by almost every major veterans organization in the country, including AmVets, the Blinded…

This debate is whether millions of senior citizens today who cannot afford the prescription drugs they need to ease their pain or stay alive are going to get those prescription drugs or whether we continue to spend even more on the…

I am very happy to join with the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) on this extremely important piece of legislation. In my State of Vermont, and I believe all over this country, one of…

I have never fully appreciated before just how out of touch this institution is with the needs of the American people. Forty-three million Americans have no health insurance. Millions of senior citizens cannot afford their prescription…

Mr. Speaker, when our troops are in harm's way, we all support them and we all pray that they will come home safely and as promptly as possible. Having said that, let me express my serious concerns about the current military action ordered…

the war has been over for 7 years. The gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and I and other people have attended numerous hearings. We have reached conclusions. Tens of thousands of veterans are ill from Gulf War illness, and they are…

Mr. Speaker, home health care agencies that do a terrific job in serving some of the most vulnerable and frail people in the State of Vermont have lost substantial funding because of an absurd formula that was put in place last year. This…

let me start by saying I voted against the absurd balanced budget agreement last year because it cut Medicare by $115 billion. That is how it was paid for. We are suffering from it right now. More importantly, I rise in strong opposition…

I want to alert Members about a very disturbing proposal recently offered by the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health. This proposal would charge senior citizens in this country an $8 co-payment for…

Mr. Speaker, when I was home over the weekend, several Vermonters asked me to make certain that I express on their behalf their sorrow at the tragic deaths of Capitol Police Officers John Gibson and Jacob Chestnut. I know that I speak for…

The subsidies for fossil fuels are targeted in the Green Scissors 1998 report, which is supported by organizations representing more than 8.5 million environmentalists, taxpayers and deficit hawks. So this is a popular concept that we are…

I would just mention, Mr. Chairman, that in terms of the offset that we are talking about, fossil energy programs have received over $15 billion in 1995 dollars in Federal funding since 1974. Maybe it is about time we pay attention to the…

does my friend understand that this amendment has nothing to do and does not change in any way our ability to deal with stabilizing U.S. currency?

this amendment aims to stop the Exchange Stabilization Fund from making loans to foreign countries without the approval of Congress. This amendment has wide tripartisan support, and is being cosponsored by the gentleman from Alabama (Mr…

it is wrong and it was wrong for the President of the United States to put at risk $20 billion in the Mexican bailout, to put at risk $3 billion providing credit to Indonesia, and $5 billion to South Korea, without discussion, debate, or…

These people who are lending the money are running to the Congress and saying, fund the IMF. Give the money to Russia so that we can make sure we get back our money at 100, 125 percent. ... the conditions that came out of the Mexican…