I had the great privilege of practicing medicine for 20 years in Louisiana. I was a heart surgeon. I did open heart surgery, critical lung surgery, and I took care of many patients during very difficult times in their lives. And I got to…

Tomorrow Ambassador Kirk will meet behind closed doors with the House Ways and Means Committee. While I appreciate the meeting, why do congressional Democrats refuse to talk in the open about creating jobs through international trade? I am…

I was in Austin. I was driving, and I saw a bunch of smoke coming out of some Federal buildings where I used to work with the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the FBI, right next door to the IRS building. I called the police chief that day…

I wholeheartedly support, congratulating the New Orleans Saints for winning Super Bowl XLIV and bringing this long overdue NFL championship to south Louisiana. You know, I was talking to some businessmen back home in my district who told…

Like all my colleagues here in the House of Representatives, I was shocked and horrified by the tragedy that occurred at the IRS office in Austin, Texas, on February 18. I especially want to offer my condolences to the family of Vernon…

The president had a chance tonight to take the government-run health care off the table. Unfortunately, he didn't do it.

I think this is an important option for local leaders.

Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

President Obama has said repeatedly, as has Secretary Geithner and Budget Director Orszag, that the stimulus bill will save or create 3.5 million jobs over the next 2 years.

Clearly, some of the Governors around the country have raised legitimate concerns about the increased burden in the form of taxes on employers.

I think it's very important to have this initial discussion about how this program is working in its early stages.

As I traveled around the district last two weeks--I live down in Southwest Louisiana--we have a lot of oil and gas production, and a lot of jobs related to this industry, the refining industry. There's a great deal of concern right now…

I would hope that you could come forward with actual tracking for this and also bring it back to Treasury and OMB.

The title of this hearing is protecting low income families while addressing climate change, and I want to address my initial line of inquiry to the three of you on my left here.

While providing coverage is one thing, providing real access to care, to a primary care physician, is another, and far too many of these children are receiving care in the emergency room, which is the most expensive and least effective way…

We also need to limit the crowd-out of private coverage and target the neediest children for enrollment first. We need to help poor children first. I know we can do better. Oppose this rule. Oppose this bill.

as a physician, we all recognize the importance of high quality health care for all children in this country. In addition to the declining source of revenue as a means to pay for this, which I believe is an irresponsible way to legislate…

In section 402 of their bill, Majority leaders failed to address the access problems I brought to their attention last year. Their vague language does not require states to uniformly report primary care visits. It does not mention…

My constituents in southwest Louisiana want solutions to the energy crisis. On Monday, the Lake Charles American Press summed up what is needed in their editorial, something I have advocated for a long time. They said, ``The energy…

As a physician, I am deeply disappointed in the way we are legislating on health care. Here we are, on one hand, physicians are facing a 10 percent cut in reimbursement, which is going to deeply have an impact on access. Furthermore, a 5…

People in southwest Louisiana understand that increasing American energy production means more American jobs, good high-paying American jobs. They also know that a magic bullet will not lower the price at the pump for families, but…

as oil prices continue to climb, increasing American energy production is critical to meeting this challenge. Yesterday, the Department of Energy announced a $715,000 grant to my alma mater, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, to…

For 501 days liberal Democrats have controlled Congress. And these liberal Democrats, including the Speaker, continue to talk about their secret solution for skyrocketing gas prices. But they have failed to produce any answers. Empty…

Americans remain frustrated with the cost of health care. As costs rise, fears grow that they'll lose coverage and even fall into bankruptcy. Americans face this anxiety every day. But it doesn't need to be that way. We can give all…

That's a perfect lead-in, because I want to talk a little bit about these two gentlemen who are leading this effort on the ground because I don't know if a lot of Americans really know about their background. General Petraeus was a former…