I support energy independence with alternative energy, energy conservation, and a whole host of other things. But this is giving more money to the oil industry which is engaged with its OPEC partners in price fixing. I wonder if the…

reclaiming my time, I really was not trying to be partisan. My colleague can attack Clinton and so forth. The only point that I was making, and I did not mean to be partisan, I only meant to record for the Record what the Republicans in…

the bottom line is that as a result of taxpayer-funded support, very important and wonderful drugs are developed. But the problem, Mr. Chairman, is that millions of Americans who paid for the research to develop those drugs cannot afford…

the gentleman said, well, why should we not repeal the estate tax. Let me tell him why. There are millions of Americans in this country, senior citizens, who suffer and die because they cannot afford prescription drugs. And this country…

Mr. Chairman, since 1993, there has been a bipartisan consensus in the House that the establishment of an environmental medical unit and research into multiple chemical sensitivity is one of the most promising areas in terms of…

I applaud my colleague, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), for offering this amendment. I think what the issue that we are debating about is priorities. I believe that every Member in the House wants to see the United States have a…

Let us be clear what this debate is about. There is a reason why the largest multinational corporations in this country are spending tens of millions of dollars to see this legislation passed, and that reason is they like doing business in…

Mr. Chairman, after all is said and done, this debate is all about two words, corporate greed. The largest multinational corporations in this country are spending tens of millions of dollars on campaign contributions, advertising, and…

I strongly support H.R. 701, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, and I would like to commend Chairman Young and Ranking Member Miller for working together to craft this truly historic piece of environmental legislation. Let me be clear…

I think a $1-an-hour increase over a 2-year period is not enough. In my view, we should raise the minimum wage today to at least $6.50 an hour. The idea, however, of doing it over a 3-year period is an absolute insult to millions and…

I am very glad that our friend from Florida informed us about some of what was in the bill. It is good to know some of the things that are in the bill, because there is not a Member of the House who has yet seen the bill. Here is the bill…

So what the gentlewoman is saying, that despite the fact that 285 Members of this body, Democrats, Republicans, Independent, voted overwhelmingly to reform our milk marketing order. The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug…

I hope that the Members are listening to what the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) was saying about process, and I hope that regardless of our political philosophy, we will oppose this bill if for no other reason than we think the…

Mr. Chairman, this is an absurd amendment which would take us in precisely the wrong direction. My constituents in Vermont ask me many questions, and they raise many concerns. But I can honestly say no Vermonter has ever come up to me and…

this amendment expresses the Congress' support of efforts to improve rural health care delivery for our veterans, and I believe it is absolutely noncontroversial. It is imperative that the special needs of veterans living in rural areas…

the problems facing veterans all over this country and especially in rural areas are very serious, and I think this amendment is helpful.

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…

No, these are the same drugs manufactured in the same factory, often in the same bottle, often in Puerto Rico. The same exact products. I want the pharmaceutical industry to tell the American people why if they go to Europe, if they go to…

What will happen is then, horror of all horror, wages may go up. Let me just touch on that very important point. We hear every day on the television, we hear it on the radio, we read it in the newspapers, that we are living in the midst of…

I would say that the pharmaceutical industry, which spends over $80 million in the last election cycle in opposition to any serious reform was successful in helping to defeat that proposal. But we will be back, and we are going to be back…

the gentleman from Oregon touches on perhaps the most fundamental issue that we can discuss; and that is, in the midst of all of the media hoopla about how great the economy is doing, the reality is that there are tens and tens of millions…

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…

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…

Mr. Speaker, I will also include for the Record, information about campaign contributions and lobbying expenses. Last week, and I hope to get into this a little bit, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) and I talked about the issue of…

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…