At the same time, let me take the opportunity to thank all of the men and women in uniform who do protect our borders, who do protect our citizens, because you do a darn good job.

I have always advocated for smart borders, meaning you can check folks, you can check merchandise before it gets to the border.

Such a statement ignores the Constitutional responsibility that we, as Congress, have to hold the Executive branch accountable.

Independent, investigatory bodies, such as the OIG and GAO, are critical to keeping the Federal Government accountable to the American people.

Unfortunately, it appears that neither the President of the United States nor his Senior White House aides seem to comprehend nor appreciate the important role of oversight in our Nation's system of checks and balances.

Mr. Speaker, last week, Congressman Steve Chabot and I, as the co-chairs of the Cambodia Caucus, called upon Secretary Tillerson and the administration to prioritize human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Cambodia. Just days…

the problem with revising the laws, from my point of view, is that we hear extreme views from the Republican party of eliminating the EPA.

there is no way we can do that because a fear that the progress we made will be lost in a deregulatory frenzy.

Mr. Speaker, after the extraordinary events of this week, I certainly had hoped that the House would move forward with a swift investigation into White House dealings with Russia. But, not to be distracted, it looks like the majority would…

Well, that's what I worry about. My understanding is that there is yet to be a meeting of the National Security Council. We're four weeks into this new administration. We haven't even had a deputy's meeting of the National Security Council.

That's cause for concern, because Bob Harward is a good man. Worked for Jim Mattis. I know him. I think he's very capable at what he does. And the fact that for whatever reason he decided not to take that role raises concerns about whether…

At some point, he's got to get back to that serious responsibility of governing the country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her hard work on this important issue. Mr. Speaker, every American should be able to trust in the promise that, after a life of hard work, a secure and dignified retirement will be there for them…

If that is done, do you think that is going to increase and shift more focus onto the seas and our maritime ports of entry?

This hiring freeze is going to cause us to rely on more expensive contractors, and actually we're not going to achieve any shrinkage in the number of people we need to serve our veterans.

It's curious to me that several witnesses and some of my Republican colleagues have said that the Fair Labor Standards Act is an outdated law from the 1930s that needs to be updated to reflect the modern workforce.

Where there's common ground, we certainly should work together. But on areas where we disagree, we'll have to stand our ground.

It is my hope that the work we do together in this subcommittee will ensure that the rules of our economy help American workers and businesses prosper together.