I don't think anyone in this Congress is more sincere on cutting government spending than Mr. Flake. I believe he comes here with pure motivation. I would simply say this to him and my colleagues: this is an issue that we carefully…

I just returned from my home State of Alabama, where we have lost over 250 of our citizens. The loss of life would have been much greater had NOAA and Dr. Jane Lubchenco and her wonderful staff not given us an early warning. But some of…

I thank the chairman. Imagine that you are on the bank of a river. It's deep in winter. It's a peaceful scene. You look out on the river, and it's frozen. There's a deep current of cold water under the ice. But then you see a small child…

We are not going to be able to revive our economy until we fix the housing market.

I reclaim my time. One thousand million dollars and $29 billion of authorization, 2 years of a failed program, and the week before we come to the floor, you file a bill. You file a bill. I'm sorry to say to the ranking member, you can file…

I thank the gentlewoman. As Republicans and Democrats, let's talk about what this bill does. This bill shuts down a Federal program which spends money. Every dime of that money, of the over 1,000 million dollars, has already been spent…

Now, let's talk about this Brazilian cotton, and let me tell you, if I were you--I'd say to the Chair, if I were the ranking member, I would talk about anything but buying this property and fixing it up. I'd do anything to avoid that…

Let's tear it down. I agree with you. And let's make the person who owns it tear it down. And this idea that this person can't be found, that this person---- I would ask for order. Announcement by the Chair The CHAIR. The Chair will remind…

Well, there you go again. Instead of talking about this program, you want to talk about the Brazil cotton deal, or you want to talk about Afghanistan. And I'll talk about those. But before I do, I have a question for you, for my colleagues…

And I would say to the Chair--and I appreciate that--that if any of my colleagues want to buy this property and think it's a good investment, they can hire painters and Realtors and put all these people to work, but the taxpayers, they're…

Well, let me ask you this: The IG said they couldn't trace some of this money, and I think we've all figured that out. If we don't know whom we're paying----

It was the person that you wrote the check to. You have to buy it, and you wrote the check out. So you know who the owner is.

I would like to address two things that the minority has raised. One is they've talked about fairness. And I will tell you that there's nothing fair about this program. In fact, it's an unfair program. It's unfair for most Americans. The…

I thank the gentleman. We are talking about our soldiers, our veterans. What do they do? They fight for our freedom, for our national defense. What is the greatest threat to our country now? What is the greatest threat to our national…

Let me say this: I would prefer that this amendment notify all Americans, particularly taxpayers, that we are stopping a program that authorizes $8 billion worth of spending. Having said that, I think this is a good amendment. I know there…

There seems to be some confusion on what the underlying bill does and what the amendments are trying to accomplish. In fact, in certain cases, it's quite evident that some of my colleagues don't understand the bill. This bill authorizes $8…

I do want to caution Members that it is not an obligation of Congress or of Members of Congress... to intervene and to suggest to the lenders that they do anything other than give due consideration. We simply put them in communication…

What are we talking about when we're talking about cutting government spending? We're talking about these children. These children cannot afford a future where its Federal Government spends $8 billion more every day than it takes in. I…

If I were Ranking Member Frank, I would do exactly what he's doing. I wouldn't talk about the fact that there are only 42 people who have been served by this program. I wouldn't talk about the fact that only $50 million has been set aside…

Would the gentlelady tell the Members, when you write that check to help them with their underwater home, that check goes to Bank of America. That check goes to Citibank. That check goes to just fill in the bank, fill in the mortgage…

We need to ensure that these regulators have the tools and resources to complete the objectives that Congress has laid out.

I will be offering an amendment to increase funding for the SEC.

I am very concerned that our highest duty in this Congress is to ensure the security and freedom of our Nation and our people.

if the rulemaking, particularly of the CFTC, were to be implemented in its current form it could literally spell the end of the U.S.-based derivatives market.

What we are talking about is the size of the Federal Government and the size of our regulations. In the last 4 years of our Democratic Congress, which took power in January of 2007--and I will remind everyone that that was prior to the…