David Obey

Let me say that thank God there were some jobs added in the last few months of the Bush presidency, that made up for the 3\1/2\ million jobs that were lost from the first 3 years of his presidency.

This is a simple, straight motion to recommit so that the committee can repair the shortcomings in the education, health care and worker protection programs in the bill, and so that the committee can respond to the announcement of the…

I would simply say that while I am dubious about the content of several of these amendments, in the interest of moving the bill forward, I would also urge that we accept the en bloc amendments and move on to the others.

In that case, I somewhat dubiously will withdraw any objection to this amendment for the moment and hope that we can clarify it further as we go to conference. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Reclaiming my time, let me simply say, I would be willing to let this amendment go by and have it temporarily accepted by the House, provided that there is an understanding that the committee reserves the right to change its mind during…

I will only take 1 minute. This is a straight motion to recommit so that we can fix the out-of- control visitors center, which is as out of control as the Federal deficit. It is also the last chance we will be able to have to remove the…

Let me simply say that while I am opposed to this bill because I think it wastes too much money on the visitors center, I agree that an across-the-board cut is not a responsible way to approach budgeting. If all of this cut came out of the…

I do my work in lots of places besides the office, and I do not use a computer. I use a pencil. So I would just suggest that I think the amendment is outrageous and misbegotten; but if the gentleman wants to accept it, we can deal with it…

I would simply say that passing this amendment will not eliminate the distribution of the Record. It will simply create a financial shortfall which will have to be dealt with in the future. I personally prefer to use the printed Record…

My understanding is that their names are Justice, Honor, Patriot, Freedom, and Tribute. Great names, but still not much of a purpose for their use.

We do not just have newspaper stories. We have the direct statement from the director of the academy that that conduct has occurred and in his view is inappropriate. Do we want to take a position that is any less firm than he has?

If I can take back my time, I understand that. That is why I had an amendment yesterday to add $400 million to local law enforcement. The majority rejected that. I had another amendment adding $200 million to local law enforcement. My…

I understand. But the gentleman, among other things, is cutting into their education programs. This country is on the edge of being scientifically illiterate. We cannot afford to cut back science education in one classroom, in one…

I simply want to rise in support of the gentleman's amendment. There is no earthly reason why consumers should not know where their food is coming from, and I would hope the House would pass the amendment.

I will take only 1 minute. The budget resolution passed earlier this year told the Congress to find a way to meet the targets in that resolution, even if we had to gut the Clean Water program and to cut the STAG grants. What this motion…

What we are doing is reducing the increase in the amount of money that is in this bill for consultants.

I must concede that under the rule that brought this bill to the floor, this amendment is not in order. I regret it. I think the country would be a whole lot better off if we passed the amendment. But I concede the point of order. The…

Can I inquire how much time each side has remaining. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) has 7\1/2\ minutes remaining, and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) has 14 minutes remaining.

So let me be explicit. Does that mean that there is no change whatsoever from the decision made in the conference when the conference approved A-76?

I think both the Menendez bill and the core bill are headed in the wrong direction on final passage. I would vote against both of them.

I have attended a lot of briefings that I have never seen you at, with the CIA, the Homeland Security Agency, and a number of others.

I would just observe the gentleman said this is a good bill. There is not anything left of this bill except the enacting clause; that is in great shape. Outside of that, it is a hollow shell.

I am not about to go on record voting for a bill which has cut these bills, in essence, almost 80 percent below last year's level in terms of transportation items. I have seen the majority party's campaign committee play games with that…

The issue is very simple. When someone who lives in Florida wants to go to his wife's funeral or visit a family Member who is deathly sick, the question is whose judgment should prevail, the judgment of that individual constituent or the…

I am sure they care about politics, but I am sure they do not care for the fact that some Members of this House seem to care more about politics than they do those Cuban families.