I would like to thank my Republican colleague from North Carolina for that very powerful statement, and I am very glad that Congresswoman Woolsey was in the Chamber to hear that, Congresswoman Woolsey who has worked so hard to remind us of…

I rise this morning to talk about something that most Americans don't know much about: derivatives. Derivatives are basically big bets on the future of the housing market, the future of oil prices that, amongst other things, AIG used to…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 414, line 4, strike ``and''. Page 414, line 20, strike the period and insert ``; and''. Page 414…

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to speak on behalf of my amendment to H.R. 1540. The underlying text of the National Defense Authorization Act calls for the shift of certain inherently governmental…

All I've got to say about that is, wow. Here we are talking about the DOD and what we should do with savings found in the DOD, and the gentleman from Virginia is bringing up stimulus and TARP and $800 billion, which has absolutely nothing…

If I understand the argument of my colleague from Virginia, he is saying that by taking away money for the purposes of debt reduction from the DOD that we will be disincentivizing action, which we all know to be the right thing to do here…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a thrill and an honor this morning on this propitious day in which a joint session of the United States Congress will be addressed by Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to introduce and welcome our guest…

I rise this morning with a question, which is: What are we doing? What are we doing here? Like all 434 of my colleagues, I just spent 2 weeks at home listening to my constituents, and I heard one message: Do everything you can. Don't let a…

I thank my good friend from New Jersey for yielding. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the amendment at the desk. This amendment addresses the FAA's redesign of the airspace over New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia with noble…

There are smart cuts and there are dumb cuts. The majority's continuing resolution, the reception it has received, suggests that it's full of dumb cuts. It has been rejected by pretty much everybody. Outright rejection to concerned…

this country has long had a history of the examination of the safety and soundness of our banks. And what we are saying now is that we will assist and support the safety and soundness of our banks by keeping the customers of those banks…

If you look at when these regulatory bodies were established in the 1930s and you look at the volatility and the growth that happened in the next 60 years, volatility was way down and growth was way up, and the American middle class took…

We have on this side spoken tonight at some length about a dangerous and poorly thought out effort on the part of the majority to underfund and gut the financial services regulatory apparatus that was established in the 1930s, which, yes…

The average investor, the mom and pop, the widows and orphans funds, they're not necessarily financially sophisticated. They need somebody looking over the shoulder of those that are selling them stock, selling them bonds. The…

In a more complicated and sophisticated financial world, the SEC must be faster. It must be more efficient. It must hire people who really understand the markets. It must be more robust, and it should be held accountable. One thing it…

I hope that the panel today will address them and give us some guidance on how we can best secure our public policy goals without taking on the risks that were incurred in the 1990s.

Tonight the President of the United States will stand in this Chamber and discharge his constitutional obligation to address the State of the Union for the Congress. I understand that many of my colleagues will be sitting together in a…

I am just curious about what the effect is on the availability of the 30-year fix, which, let's face it, it is mom, apple pie, and core to American families.

We are, I think, developing a consensus in this Chamber that we need to address it in a serious way.

The new Republican majority has decided that today we will read the United States Constitution, which I guess is a good thing. But like every other American, I can and do read it for myself. In fact, I did it this morning and came across…

What does the Congress owe the American people? I think it owes a young man or a young woman who will put on the uniform of this Nation and agree to sacrifice his or her life the right to serve. The Republicans, all but a handful of…

I make a point every day to look in The Times at that black box, usually on page 7 or 8, that lists the names of those young men and women who have given their lives in Afghanistan. Yesterday, it struck me, as we go into Christmas, that…

Imagine you wake up one morning to discover that the U.S. Government will be sending you under duress to Guatemala or Mexico or the Ukraine. You don't speak the language; you have never visited. These places are as foreign as foreign can…

In 1857, just down the hall, the Supreme Court, which met in this building at the time, decided Dred Scott, in which they said that a black American was not entitled to the rights of the Constitution promised to all men. The good news is…

Today this House will take up the question of whether we should extend the temporary unemployment insurance programs currently in place. If this House chooses not to do that, 2 million Americans will go into the holidays wondering not…