Every dollar we spend on incarceration makes the country less safe, so we need to figure it out.

Watching my parents who had a small business and the fact that they employed everyone and they didn't do background checks, they just looked at you and if they thought you were a good person after they talked to you, they gave you a…

We want to be an elite City, we just don't want to be a City of the elite.

The most important thing we have to do is ensure that they are either employed and employed at a wage where they can support and sustain themselves.

52 percent unemployment among African American males is not sustainable for any community in the country.

If we would have included the people in the community as we developed policies, we would have used replacement value or rebuilding cost instead of appraised value.

I think that if we can design a program at some point where we could allow that to happen, I think that would be--

I would hate to be in your job. But let me just ask, and I know there is a lot of talk about a number of issues, but I am going to get a little local in my area, because we do have the largest petrochemical footprint in the United States…

The hypocrisy in the room is unbelievable.

We're not because we're so stuck on saying that I'm pro-life. Yeah, until the baby is born.

I guess I am just as concerned that--it is my understanding that the Majority side is working on a reorganization also, and I would just hope that we don't get into, you know, a power contest about who does what and when and we just…

I do commend the Chairman because we have worked in a bipartisan manner, for the most part, because it is so important.

We take that very seriously.

But the things you can do that you think bring in efficiencies, make us more secure, and are going towards the Unity of Effort you all are moving forward with?

I think it is just a lack of communication.

What measures are in place to engage with labor, both public and private, regarding the changes you plan to make?

I think we have a role to play in oversight; I think we have a role to play in planning the mission; but I think that there are other people who actually go out and run the plays after we meet in the huddle and we call the play.

In my district, which we have talked about the infrastructure and the petrochemical and the refineries and the ports, I also have a lot of labor and union membership in my district; not only people work for DHS, but in the ports, the…

This reorganization is both massive and a crucial undertaking.

I always believe in deferring to the experts that do it, and I defer.

Before I get into some of the misconceptions and perceptions that still remain from Katrina, let me just finish where the gentleman from Mississippi left off. In its aftermath and the rescue and recovery, one of the shining stars during…

I want to just thank my colleagues from Louisiana for also talking about the devastation that we received in hurricanes, both Katrina and Rita, which we call the ``sister hurricanes'' because they were only separated by a couple of days…

I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, let me inquire as to how much time I have remaining. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hardy). The gentleman has 17 minutes remaining.

I thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), who represents the neighboring district from me in part of the metropolitan area of New Orleans. Let me just start off by saying something about New Orleans and the people of New Orleans…

On behalf of the American Gas Association (AGA), the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) we are writing in support of testimony submitted by Brian Finch on the need to clarify…