96 airstrikes, eight cluster bomb attacks, 231 artillery and missile attacks--that is what the people in Idlib, Syria, experienced yesterday from the forces of the brutal dictator Assad and his Russian protector, Putin. These attacks hit…

My interest in making this request comes from our work on House Resolution H. Res. 49, Supporting Coptic Christians in Egypt.

I want to thank you for including language in fiscal year 2020 in the committee report regarding efforts to ensure religious freedom and tolerance for Christian communities in Egypt.

Although the Copts have been victims of numerous terrorist attacks by groups like ISIS, what is more disturbing to me are the attacks against Copts carried out by their fellow Egyptians.

I look forward to working with my fellow colleagues to develop and pass this important legislation over the next several months.

The report language I intend to request would require the Department of State to report to Congress on the steps that the Egyptian government is taking to ensure proper treatment and justice for Christians communities in their country.

Well, Chairwoman Lowey, thank you for your years of service to our Congress and to the American people.

Mandatory spending accounts for 70 percent of the federal budget.

I have to question the point of the exercise today.

The deficit will be over $1 trillion--that is with a T.

But let us never believe that the freedom of religion imposes on any of us some responsibility to run from our convictions. Let us instead respect one another's space, fight to the death to preserve the right of every American to practice…

Our fiscal trajectory, it is not sustainable.

As long as it is solid, the carbon is there. It is the best carbon storage mechanism that we know of.

the actual emissions are decreasing in the same time period.

The No. 1 reason for deforestation in the United States? It is development.

Sustainability is keeping something at a level or better than you found it in the past to get on to future generations.

Not hardly. I consider planting trees and taking care and being good stewards of the forests that we have sound environmental stewardship.

My legislation represents a pragmatic, science-based first step in addressing global carbon emissions, emphasizing natural carbon sequestration through reforestation, forest management, and sustainable utilization.