I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 1058, which honors the 10th anniversary of Sojourn to the Past, an educational program dedicated to developing students' appreciation for an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement. The…

I rise today in support of House Resolution 1456, which congratulates the University of Dayton men's basketball team for winning the 2010 National Invitation Tournament Basketball Championship. The N.I.T. is the oldest tournament in…

Once again, I want to thank Representative Speier of California for introducing this concurrent resolution, and I, once again, express my strong support for designating the week beginning on the second Sunday of September as Arts in…

There are hundreds of thousands of children in our country, cheerleaders on a high school cheerleading squad, members of the high school football team, students who work hard and play by the rules, get ready for college, and yet they are…

It should be common sense that with the limited dollars we have in law enforcement, diverting those law enforcement resources to hunt down immigrants detracts from our efforts to combat violent crime. However, believe it or not, some…

I rise today in support of the rule and in support of the Lee amendment to responsibly end the war in Afghanistan. There is a real terrorist threat to our country, but that threat does not emanate from Afghanistan. It emanates from al…

This last weekend, I was part of a delegation to Campeche, Mexico, as part of the U.S.-Mexico parliamentary exchange. This was the 49th annual U.S.-Mexico parliamentary exchange, and I rise today to emphasize the importance of the…

This disaster of great proportion is indicative of the culture of deregulation and the influence of the special interests in the oil industry and the prevalence of those interests within the Bush administration, embedded into the…

In 1993 the passage of Don't Ask, Don't Tell was a result of a political process, not a military one. Today we can rectify that and continue with this process under way where the military consults with and listens to men and women and…

I am here tonight to talk about the Jewish history in the West and in Colorado. Colorado was still an untamed wilderness when gold was discovered near Pike's Peak in 1858. The 59ers, fortune hunters from across the country, came to our…

Small businesses are really the backbone of our country. ... There are businesses in my district that, if they had access to credit, they would be able to grow and expand and hire more people.

There are many issues before Congress, both great and small--all of tremendous importance. One of the issues that there's an outcry among the American people for us to deal with is immigration reform. Whether people are conservative or…

I rise today in support of H.R. 5116, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. This bill is the product of our Nation's understanding that economic prosperity and international competitiveness is the result of American innovation…

In response to the gentleman from Georgia, we live in a Federalist system. States have the ability to determine what languages are recognized in an official capacity. I think it would be misleading to the people of Puerto Rico in the…

The people of this country are tired of this problem being used for political purposes from the left and the right. The American people just want to see this issue solved. The American people are smart; they recognize that the longer we…

Thank you, Congresswoman Chu, for your leadership on this issue. Those are very powerful words that you shared. The stories that you shared, those individuals are not alone. There are hundreds of thousands of people across our country…

A lot of us were, frankly, shocked at some of the steps that Arizona took a couple of weeks ago which has sent a powerful message to us here in Washington that we need to act. It's not up to States to patrol their borders, to protect who…

I think it's a very appropriate discussion to have. It's a discussion at the State level; and I know that some States have done precisely that. But, again, this would be an example of an overreach of the Federal Government where they would…

I would like to emphasize that this bill is revenue neutral for the Federal Government and that all costs of the plebiscite will be paid by the Puerto Rican government. The United States is committed to democracy, and this bill gives us…

In brief response to the gentleman from Washington, all States, certainly including the residents of Puerto Rico, if they, in fact, become a State, would have the protections of the Second Amendment, as well as all of the other amendments…

I thank the gentleman from Minnesota. With due respect, it is really the American people who have kept the fire under this issue. The American people do not want Congress to continue to ignore our broken immigration system. What would…

Thank you. I am glad that my friend from Minnesota brought up the important issue of detention. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE had 380,000 people in 2009 who were detained at taxpayer expense. One of the things we fear with…

I appreciate Mr. Ellison bringing up employer verification. One of the key components of the Senate outline requires biometric employment verification. So this is not a Social Security number that could be used by somebody who is 6 foot 1…

Well, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota. And people know, taxes are relative to one's income. I've heard from many people, and of course in this recession people are hurting across the board from the wealthy to the poor. And I think…

A key part of the historic health care reforms that this Congress has now passed is the way that it empowers people to rise from poverty and reduce their reliance on government for providing their health care. Medicaid provides health care…