David Obey

I simply would like to say there is no financial difference whatsoever between these two approaches. The only real difference is the one being proposed by the gentleman from Iowa probably will not become law, and the other one will.

Mr. Speaker, we are not legislating here today. We are engaging in a giant game of charades. Let me explain. The gentleman who just spoke, the gentleman from Florida, is the senior Republican on the Committee on Appropriations. I am the…

I think that the speech we just heard indeed does illustrate rather dramatically the difference in priorities between most of us on this side of the aisle and many others on that side of the aisle. What is before us is this: we routinely…

the only way the gentleman from Iowa can get away from this is that the rule he is citing applies only to a bill that is reported from committee. This action is not reported from committee, so he gets around the very rule he professes to…

those who know me in this House know that I have a vast preference in almost all instances for economic assistance rather than military assistance, not just in the Middle East but in virtually every other area of the world. I think that…

This amendment is simply an effort to reinstate the language as I understand the gentleman from Virginia wanted it, and to also insert the language originally inserted in this bill by the Committee on Appropriations which would prevent the…

Mr. Chairman, my understanding of the situation before us is that the gentleman from Virginia is objecting to section 717 of the bill beginning on page 66 which attempts to discipline the agency because the Committee on Appropriations has…

Let me say, Mr. Speaker, I am not going to vote for this bill, and I am not going to vote for it for two reasons. Number one, we have the continued saga of that ridiculous hole out in front of the Capitol, the Capitol Visitors Center. You…

Mr. Speaker, again, despite all of the misinformation that we have just heard, the IRS has told us that fewer than six-tenths of 1 percent of all returns with small business income have incomes of more than $1 million. To suggest that this…

the majority is currently planning to include a provision in this rule that will effectively allow an increase in the Nation's debt ceiling. In my view, this procedural gimmick is an abuse of the troops that this bill is meant to support…

Let me simply suggest that that gives me no comfort. The fact is that we have two basic problems with container inspection. The idea behind the new system that the administration is talking about is to see to it that cargo is inspected…

I greatly respect the gentleman and understand the argument that he makes. I would simply say that this Congress has had a long time. If the Congress had not eliminated the language that we offered last year, that was stricken by a point…

I greatly regret the action that has just taken place. Both political parties are posing for political holy pictures on the issue of exporting jobs, and both parties have done it for quite some time. This language that was just stricken…

Mr. Chairman, I have told the House twice now that while I think this bill is an improvement over the budget presented by the President, in fact, it leaves this country seriously exposed to a whole variety of vulnerabilities from terrorist…

I remember being here during the first and second energy crisis in 1973 and again in 1977 under President Ford and then President Carter. And when we realized what a bind we were in on energy, we had a bunch of new actions taken. We took…

let me simply say that the idea that how much money is allocated to tax cuts is totally unrelated to how much money is left for homeland security or education or health care, the idea that those things are unrelated is absurd and…

I would very much like to be able to support this bill, and I regret very much that I cannot do so. I would like to explain why that is the case. First of all, let me simply observe that I think that this bill gives vivid testimony to the…

we have now gone about 1,000 days since the attack on this country on 9/11, and this bill is supposed to deal with our efforts to protect the homeland. I think that to evaluate how good those efforts are, we need to compare the challenges…

I find myself very frustrated tonight. I feel like I am in Forestry Theology 1A. I am not a forest manager. I have a district with one of the largest national forests in the eastern region of the United States, and I have firsthand dealing…

I happen to agree with the desire to add more money for PILT, but the problem is there are a wide variety of other programs which are not being assisted because the budget resolution and the action of the committee has effectively wiped…

Mr. Speaker, I often refer to Archie the cockroach. This is my political bible, and Archie has something for almost every occasion. One thing he said once was ``Boss, I believe the millennium will come, but there is a long list of people…

this resolution will be minimally useful at best. I intend to vote for it. But it falls far short of what this House ought to be doing today. Lou Dobbs two days ago on CNN I think said it best when he said that the reason the Commander in…

Earth Day is a great day to call attention to the many environmental and public health challenges that face everyone on the planet. It is also a great opportunity to reflect on the history of the Earth Day movement and to pay tribute to…

Mr. Chairman if this resolution is fiscally responsible, then the town drunk ought to be named the permanent president of the temperance union. The fact is, this resolution is the greatest demonstration of fiscal and social…

I am so excited by what I just heard that I expect that we will fully see Iraq replace New Hampshire on the Presidential primary circuit before long.