David Obey

Now, there may be a deal in the works to raise that number in the future. But the number we are voting on right now, in fact, contains a $4 billion reduction in what can be made available to States in comparison to the CR that we are…

In real dollars, no, I would not agree with that. There is, as the gentleman from California said, $80 million cut in real terms.

there is no question that if the majority party on the Committee on Appropriations were left to its own devices that we would have a very respectable and decent education appropriation bill. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) is a strong…

I am going to give the gentleman from Georgia my Alibi Ike of the Cosmos Award tonight for that speech. Let us put the record straight. The Senate has not passed three appropriation bills which the House has sent to it, the Legislative…

what now? We have since Labor Day focused almost exclusively on Iraq, Iraq, and then Iraq. And then Iraq. We have now finally finished that business. And the average American family is sitting home and they are saying, ``You know, I wonder…

the answer is very simple. When they had the will to pass a bill, they passed it. When they do not want to pass the bills, they do not pass them. They were not trying to hide what they were doing on Defense, but they are trying to hide…

That is right. Instead of having a disagreement between the House and the Senate, we have a disagreement between the House and the House.

No, I do not grant that at all and I do not verify that. The fact is the increases are not being continued by the continuing resolution. The increases are being brought to a screeching halt. You are now freezing the progress we have been…

I intend to vote to authorize the President to use military force against Iraq, provided that we are part of an allied coalition under the authority of a new U.N. resolution. But if the President cannot obtain the support of our allies or…

I am amazed by what I have just heard from the gentleman from Iowa. Apparently, the gentleman is only now beginning to face what a miserable mess is often created when we have to run the government under continuing resolutions. I would…

I am becoming highly reluctant to support any other continuing resolutions of a week or longer in nature because they do not seem to be affording us or they do not seem to be providing any pressure for us to pass our regular appropriation…

Mr. Speaker, I think the last speaker has just revealed what the problem is in this place. We are being told that we will eventually get together after the election and get these problems solved. The fact is that when we come back after…

I guess the gentleman has left the floor. But the answer is it was never approved, and despite that fact, this House completed action on 12 of its 13 appropriation bills. The gentleman is desperately looking for a way to blame anybody…

I note that another continuing resolution is being scheduled, sort of like Groundhog Day. We just finished one today. The purpose of continuing resolutions is to give us time to do our other business. Given that fact, can the gentleman…

ever since Labor Day this Congress and the President have been focused almost exclusively on Iraq, and there is absolutely no question that we will soon be at war. Meanwhile, the economy is showing serious signs of stress, and this body is…

until last Saturday, Patsy was one of the three people left in this House who was here when I first came. At that time, she was one of a handful of progressives who would gather each week to discuss ways that we could prod our own party…

Education Privileged Resolution A resolution, in accordance with House Rule IX, expressing a sense of the House that its integrity has been impugned and Constitutional duty hampered by the failure of the House to bring to the floor on a…

reclaiming my time, so would I. But let me simply say we have been held up by the actions of the Committee on the Budget and the internal war in the Republican caucus for 8 months. We have been held up for the last 26 hours by the…

I would simply like to say to the gentleman who just spoke, the worst thing that can happen in this town is when we believe our own baloney, and the fact is I have just heard a lot of it. We hear speech after speech from the majority side…

The previous speaker leaves a false impression in the House because of his constant reference to budget resolutions rather than appropriations. Budget resolutions do not provide one dime for students. Appropriations bills do. The fact is…

Mr. Speaker, we have just been told by the majority party whip that he is holding back an ocean wave of spending. Well, what is it that he is holding back? What is he using his hammer to hold back in his own caucus? He is using his hammer…

Let me simply respond by saying I think that is a red herring. The fact is that it is not the fault of the other body that this House has only produced five of the 13 appropriation bills. The other body is not even supposed to consider…

the gentleman from Iowa just attacked my positions as a ``tax and spender.'' I would point out that when he took over as chairman of the Committee on the Budget, this committee was running a large surplus; and under his magnificent…

This bill, for instance, has $13 million in the conference report for safety of imported meat and poultry above the amount recommended by the President. We have $17 million above the amount recommended by the President for bioterrorism…

every week when I go home to my district and also here in my office, I talk to business people who work hard, who worry about their communities, their investors, and their workers. They try to produce a good product. They do their duty as…