the median income in America has dropped. What is the Republican Congress trying to do? Increase the minimum wage? Nope. Making sure that everyone in this country has access to affordable health care? Nope. Controlling energy costs? Nope…

last week we had a big debate about Iraq, and our battles over there continue. There were a lot of accusations about which party cut and run, yielded by those on the other side who said Democrats wanted to cut and run. It is ironic because…

since day one of the war in Iraq, Democrats have provided the President with everything he asked for, yet Republicans have denied the President the one thing he needed: Oversight. In a post-9/11 world, the American people need the…

across the Potomac in Arlington today, we are breaking ground for the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon. Our Nation is rightfully honoring the victims of those heinous acts. It has also been 1 week since I called upon my Republican colleagues…

this Congress has cut and run from its responsibility of oversight, to ensure that the taxpayer money is spent wisely. By last count, nearly $10 billion of the funds set aside for Iraq reconstruction cannot be found. Vanished. $10 billion…

Karl Rove has said that the Democrats want to cut and run on the war in Iraq. Well, let us talk about cutting and running. When we were told this would be a quick war and turned into a long war, this Congress cut and run from its oversight…

as United States citizens, we are blessed with many freedoms. Among those is the right to freely speak our minds. While freedom of speech is one of the things that makes our country great, it also means we have to endure the words of a…

yesterday marked the 62nd anniversary of D Day. On that day, thousands of young Americans made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our Nation. In the words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, each of these heroes stand in the unbroken…

this may sound strange coming from a Democrat, but I am here to applaud the Wall Street Journal for its work in uncovering a major corporate scandal. After Enron and WorldCom, we enacted Sarbanes-Oxley to usher in a new era of corporate…

sometimes it takes a heated exchange to reveal the truth. People say things they would not normally say, or reflect their true thinking. For instance, while debating the budget the other night, a member of the Republican leadership said…

it seems the President has found a new use for the Guard, dealing with his Presidency. On Monday the President announced his intention to send 6,000 National Guardsmen to secure the border. Never mind that his budget cuts the National…

it's deja vu all over again. Another windfall for the wealthy while everybody else gets to work for a living. By my count, this Congress has now financed three wars with four tax cuts. How else do you get $300 billion in annual deficits…

with Mother's Day coming up, I had come across a document on the Internet that was sent around to a number of women, including some in my office. In honor of all the mothers across America, I would like to read this, if I could. A woman…

I ask permission to speak out of order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for 5 minutes.

last May, nearly a year ago, my colleagues Mr. Meehan, Senator Feingold and I introduced the first lobbying reform legislation in the Congress. It has the support of Public Citizen, Common Cause, and non-partisan scholars like Norm…

later this morning, the President will unveil his plan for responding to a flu pandemic. The Homeland Security Department will be playing a key role in the response. That is right, the pandemic flu response will be brought to you by the…

investigators have recently uncovered a letter from the Republican leadership to special interest lobbyists. Dear Lobbyists, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth of thy oil wells, for thou shall have $14.5…

yesterday President Bush said record oil prices and large cash flows also mean that these companies don't need unnecessary tax breaks. How does the President think that these oil companies got the tax breaks in the first place? A…

reclaiming my time, I voted against that; and I vote against giving them $14.5 billion because I do not believe there is a worse example of corporate welfare, only to be followed by the prescription drug bill and the corporate tax bill…

everyone is talking about gas prices. This morning President Bush presented the Nation with, he said, a ``plan to lower gas prices.'' A little over a year ago on June 6, 2005, energy was $2.09. I use that date because that was the date…

it is time the American people got a refund because what they are getting out of this Congress they didn't pay for. In every war, from Lincoln with the land grant colleges, Kennedy during the Cold War, who built literally NASA and put a…

There must be something in the water here in Washington. To remind my colleague and my friend from Buffalo, the first vote of this Congress by the majority party was to strip the Ethics Committee that investigates Members of its authority…

My good friend from Buffalo, you may not get health care legislation done this year, you may not get educational reform this year, and for sure, you won't balance the budget. But this Congress will be remembered as the Congress that Jack…

in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal, we have seen multiple indictments, Members of Congress resigning under a cloud of scandal, congressional approval at an historic low, and a public demand for reform. You would think that the…

we live in quite interesting times. Where else could you invest about $1 billion and get $100 billion in return? A Republican Congress, but of course. As the New York Times recently pointed out, the people's House has turned into the House…