David Obey

I would ask why on hotels and motels, right now there is a $500,000 differential between them in the law. Under the gentleman's recommendation, there would be almost a $2 million differential between hotels and motels. And symphony…

taking back my time, that is exactly my point. The gentleman does not know why the original numbers were selected. Neither do we on the committee. The role of the authorizing committee is to determine what those reasons were and to…

This floor, with all due respect, does not have the information to make those judgments. Committees are supposed to serve the House by doing their own work in their own jurisdiction by developing specific areas of expertise and then…

The Parliamentarian said that it was germane. That does not mean it is smart to offer it to this bill. It ought to be offered to the committee that is supposed to handle this. I have had my staff check it out. We have over 500…

I certainly say I support the gentleman's amendment. As he knows, I was involved in those negotiations, and I think that they reached an extremely constructive result, and I appreciate the attitude of all of the parties involved. This is a…

I grew up in an era where drug use was a rarity. I hate a lot of things that have happened to this society. I hate what has happened to our cities because of drugs, and I have to say that drugs are not just a big city problem. My hometown…

I congratulate both of them because of their concern in this issue and their leadership in trying to get Congress to face this issue. I, for one, do not feel that the Federal Government can become a major funding source for construction in…

Mr. Chairman, this is another in a series of amendments being offered by a small band of Members on the other side of the aisle to, in essence, on an amendment-by-amendment basis gut one of the two top priorities of the President in this…

If you want exhibit A of why campaign finance reform is needed, it is the tax bill that just passed this place. There would not have been any $50 billion gift to the tobacco industry with the lights out. There would not have been any…

I think it is incredibly sad that the original intention of the reforms back in the midseventies have now been so subverted by both misguided Supreme Court decisions and clever lawyering on the part of people who want to influence…

I would like to reemphasize something that the gentlewoman is saying. This agency's staffing has been reduced by more than one-third since 1980, from 3,000 people to under 2,000; by more than 25 percent since 1985. The staffing level for…

I said that it is workers throughout the country who have a right to go to their Government for redress when they have been treated unfairly. Those workers work very hard and they work and sweat very often, which is a lot more than can be…

With all due respect to the colloquy that just occurred, this funding cannot be used to provide gifted and talented funding. The purpose of title I under which this program is funded is to promote the raising of standards in schools and…

I wanted the House to know that this is part of an overall agreement that has been reached with much controversy. I expect that even after the House proceeds with it, that there will continue to be much controversy about a number of these…

this package simply provides Federal money so that local schools can examine all of the possibilities for improving the way they work in their own schools on a comprehensive basis so that they can do what I hope everybody believes in…

as has been the case often in the last 3 days, agencies are being pummeled for the sins of their predecessors. I would point out that the building into which the NLRB moved was a building, they were moved into that building under the Bush…

Mr. Chairman, I am frankly of mixed views on this amendment. Let me simply recite for the committee what has already transpired with respect to Goals 2000. Mr. Chairman, last year Goals was funded at $491 million level. The administration…

I think that many businesses respond to those positive incentives because they know that if they do not, they have the possibility of fines coming at them. That is why we are trying to preserve the balance between the programs.

I would like to recite the numbers to demonstrate the change that has occurred since the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter] has become chairman. The enforcement portion of OSHA's budget has declined by 5 percent in those 3 years. The…

I rise in support of the Castle amendment. Mr. Chairman, first of all, let me say that there is virtually no Member of this House, certainly on that side of the aisle, for whom I have more respect than the gentleman from Illinois [Mr…

All of the studies show that by far the most youth crime is committed between the hours of 3 and 6 in the afternoon. That is why I think that the intent of the Filner amendment is good and I support what the gentleman is trying to do. I…

my father was the only man in America who moved to Oklahoma during the Depression to get a job. I was born there by accident. I would simply say that I do not think the folks in Okmulgee would vote for this amendment if they fully…

the fact is that many of them are coming to the United States right now because those refugee camps have just been closed down. They are entering California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, thousands of them.

the list of violations by that company is stunning. They failed to properly guard machines. They failed to lock up dangerous equipment when not in use. They failed to provide respiratory protection for workers. They failed to provide…

they sacrificed their all on behalf of America's troops in Vietnam, America's pilots in Vietnam and Laos. Now the reward that they would get under this amendment is to have scaled back further the benefits which some of these folks get in…