David Obey

I am confused about that response from the majority leader, because when our staff met with the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Neumann] today, he indicated that neither he nor anyone involved in putting that bill together had read the…

I would simply like to observe that this seems to me to be nothing but a blatantly political act. The question is not what the President has said he will or will not do. I hope he will provide ample opportunity for Wisconsin to get what it…

The issue is not what the President knows, because the legislation that is being brought before us asks for a congressional waiver, not a Presidential waiver. So the issue is not what somebody on the other end of the avenue knows. The…

I would simply take note of the fact that we have had a great many claims made about W-2 by the Governor and by various members of the legislature. I think the test that ought to be followed is that, before this Congress votes on this…

7 months late and two Government shutdowns later, this Congress finally got together and passed a bipartisan continuing resolution or a bipartisan series of appropriation bills just a few weeks ago. Now the Committee on Appropriations last…

Mr. Speaker, this bill is a victory for American values. It is a triumph of American's priorities in areas like education, the environment and Medicare, over the politics and the policies of government gridlock and shutdown. It shows the…

With respect to the comments just made about the President's program of cops on the beat, the President was very clear about this, and Mr. Panetta was very clear about this since the beginning of the negotiations. They wanted to make…

Mr. Speaker, this really is a very good day for this institution, and in my view it marks the end of a very dark period. The House does not run the Government. We do not execute the laws or administer the programs of this Government, but…

I would simply note that the gentleman from Ohio, John Kasich, the Republican chairman of the Committee on the Budget, the gentleman from Minnesota, Martin Sabo, the Democratic ranking member of the Committee on the Budget, the gentleman…

In 12 of the past 15 years, the highway trust fund expended more than it collected in dedicated taxes. In 12 of the years since that trust fund's inception in 1956, the highway trust fund expended more than it collected in both dedicated…

I would hope that we can cut through the bull gravy and focus on what is really happening here today. The fact is that this proposal really represents the majority party's determination to keep Government running on the installment plan…

Mr. Speaker, we do not have either the President's budget or the Republican budget before us today. What we have before us is a proposition which continues the reduced funding levels of education and environmental protection which will…

Let us take a look at what the effect of that would be on the local school districts. You would require local school districts to lay off 40,000 teachers. Am I going to support a unanimous-consent request for that? Absolutely not. It means…

let me explain what we have just seen and let me explain this motion. The majority party is insisting that we pass a resolution which continues in place lower funding levels that cut some $3 billion out of education and continue very…

I simply note that earlier in the year we were told, ``Let's just pass a 45-day continuing resolution. That will give us enough time to work out the long-term budget problems.'' That expired. Then they brought to the floor another…

I take the well to regrettably indicate that I do not intend to vote for this rule, and I do intend to support the gentleman from California [Mr. Beilenson] in his motion, because I think the Committee on Rules made a major mistake in…

When we cut through all the shouting, I think it is easy to see by looking at the actions of other parties who is the odd man out today and who is not. The Senate 2 days ago, with only 14 dissenting votes--and the last time I looked, the…

Mr. Speaker, yes, I support a special interest in the area of education. The special interest I support is kids. They are our Nation's future, and I make absolutely no apology for it. Let me simply say, the facts remain that if we follow…

But I do think that it is necessary to understand that the President was representing the overwhelming number of Americans when he decided that it was not correct to cut education funding by over $3 billion; when he decided it was not…

The President has not asked us to spend more money. What happened is very simple: The majority party in this House decided that they wanted to spend $7 billion more on the Pentagon budget than the President wanted them to spend. The…

I would simply say again, you cannot now use Federal dollars to lobby the Federal Government. That is existing law. All the Istook proposition says is that to the Red Cross, the Boy Scouts, the Farmers' Union, Alzheimer's Association, Girl…

Bills which have gone through the Congress this year have cut $33 billion in the nondefense area. They have also added $7 billion above the President's request for the defense budget. All the President has wanted to do is to add back $7…

let me simply ask with respect to the recent comments of the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Walker] with respect to section 4002, does that mean in essence that what the gentleman is saying is that none of the funds in this bill will be…

Mr. Chairman, we have long passed 1984, but we have just heard another example of 1984 doublespeak. We hear this talk about how the Republican side of the aisle does not want to shut the Government down, and then they proceed to go on and…

Mr. Chairman, again this bill is being offered as a bill which is trying to move the process forward and help resolve remaining differences between the White House and the Congress. I have already described why that is not so, but I have…