Hank Johnson

Today, Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this hyperpartisan and inhumane House substitute version of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. This version is inhumane and cynical because it removes certain classes of…

No, that's enough said. Let me say how much I enjoyed our colloquy today, and I look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that America remains the great Nation that it has always been.

You've got an educated work force, relatively speaking. You've got enhanced transportation abilities here to get your goods and services to market quickly, as opposed to the expense and the security of coming across the water. And I'm…

I think they still owe us a little bit. We still have some GM stock. The Federal Government still owns some GM stock, which they're going to have to repurchase those shares from us. So we are still involved, but that's another example of…

And so we spent $700 billion. And it was the United Auto Workers union that sat down at the negotiating table with Big Business, worked out what some may call give-backs. It actually gave up some of the benefits that it had signed…

It's only a few, like Sheldon Adelson, the Koch brothers, who want to control the public policy apparatus. They want to control government so that they can have government to make them more money. That's all they're interested in is…

No, it's not healthy. And it's amoral. Greed, when you've got to get more, more, more and you're not willing to share, you're not willing for everyone to prosper; and when you think that a person is poor because they don't want to get out…

Actually, since 1979, the income, or the after-tax income, of the top 2 percent has increased by about 372 percent, if I recall the correct number, 372 to 378, while, as you say, regular working people, the middle class, their incomes have…

Yes, it sure did. And so I readily signed on your letter that you're circulating, your ``Dear Colleague'' letter. And I'm glad to know, as well, that the President has included a modest $50 billion stimulus aspect in his proposal to strike…

Yes, with the big checks. And they were actually clamoring for that Federal money, and it made an important difference. It allowed States and local governments to retain teachers and firefighters, police officers, construction workers. You…

We have to stimulate, as government does, economic vitality. We can do that. It has been done repeatedly throughout the history of this country. A great example is the recent $787 billion stimulus that was passed back in, I think, 2007.

That's what it's all about. Government is the entity which primes the economic pump through which prosperity then flows. So we're now at a point, though, where: Are we going to turn everything over to the big businesses, and are we going…

Yes. A Republican, by the way, 1958, I believe it was, decided that this country needed an interstate highway system. Where would we be if we had not committed the dollars to get that done? When we did that, it was an investment in the…

Yes. It seems to be a concerted attack on that social safety net that has made us such a great civilization, which is that we take care of each other. It's an attack on that. It's in accordance with a philosophy of laissez-faire economics.

Then as to Medicare, they want to turn that into a voucher program and put a 1 percent cap, I think, on the cost- of-living increase and then give that in the form of a voucher to people so that they can go out and purchase insurance on…

They want to do that for Medicare as well. That Paul Ryan budget would actually decimate the Medicaid system. They just want to whack off a third of the Federal funding and then turn it into a block grant program.

Representative Schakowsky, I think it's wrong that we would tell people who have paid into the Social Security system throughout their lives that now you're going to move the goalpost and put a couple of years more on there before…

In 2009, The New York Times described the practice of overcollection as significant and systemic. Any counterterrorism measure must have a solid constitutional footing and respect the privacy and the civil liberties of American citizens…

I believe that the title of this hearing, 'The Obama Administration's Abuse of Power,' is indeed indicative of the politicization of this hearing.

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Georgia will be postponed. Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Kucinich The Acting CHAIR. It is…

This amendment is not designed to pave the way for any specific regulation. It is intended generally to prevent the delay in issuing regulations that will protect the privacy of our citizens. Privacy considerations should be at the…

Reclaiming my time, what about Wall Street regulations? We would not be able to come to an agreement on that. The Acting CHAIR. All time controlled by the gentleman from Michigan has expired. The gentleman from Texas has 3 minutes…

I thank the gentleman. Mr. Chairman, there is absolutely no way, with the many regulations that need to be promulgated and put into effect, that we would be able to do that here in Congress instead of letting the stakeholders, the business…

I thank the gentleman. I really enjoy the fact that we share a common border, and we have worked together to try to traverse that border and come to a consensus on issues that affect the people of our districts. And I think that's exactly…

It seems to me that all across the Nation, there is a stigma in the urban areas in terms of being Black and being a male, and that leads to a disproportionate share of our prison system, both state and Federal, being represented by that…