Steve Lynch

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1563, the Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act. I just want to point out that this is indeed about Federal employees, the Federal Employee Tax…

One of the things that the Center for Responsible Lending has been very public and adamant about is the importance of actually making sure that community-based banking institutions have an opportunity to compete.

I have some areas in my district that are underbanked, including Brockton, Massachusetts.

I traveled a lot as an iron worker before I came to Congress and oftentimes I would only be in a place maybe 6 months, 8 months, and many times shorter times than that.

But that is a very separate thing than saying that it should be acceptable to charge 300 percent or 400 percent interest rates.

I don't see the end of this if we leave this situation the way it is.

How about just naming them, name and shame? How about that?

I think this is a disgrace that their reputation, I see--and they were in some dangerous, dangerous places in Afghanistan, down in Helmand Province trying to deal with the opium exportation there, doing heroic work.

I think the problem here, now after hearing you testify, even though you've said you were not happy, even though you said you were very disappointed--this is a prostitution ring--15 to--they are using taxpayer money to solicit and pay for…

How do you hold people accountable when you cannot discipline them?

This is a very serious issue, and you've done nothing. You've done nothing.

I think it would have been a clear signal... that those two guys screwed up, and they're gone for now.

The signal that you're sending to every other Secret Service agent... is that those folks were not penalized at all.

I'm going to make a recommendation that we have--we adopt legislation that requires that Secret Service keep video for 30 days.

The fact that you were not notified of this incident for 5 days concerning your two agents is totally unacceptable.

I think that is very, very important for retail investors and pension funds, things like that.

I recently drafted a bill called the Maker-Taker Conflict of Interest Reform Act.

Immigration could help that if it were structured in a positive way which would address that gap.

The President has said on many occasions that he would prefer to have a comprehensive, well thought out, well structured, thoroughly debated, data driven immigration law introduced rather than using this more crude mechanism.

I would hope that our immigration policy would be data driven to some extent.

Humanity has progressed through an agricultural revolution, an industrial revolution, and we are in the midst of an information revolution.

That is an attack on democracy in a very real way.

Let me begin by expressing my sincere sorrow to the families of Jamiel Shaw and Grant Ronnebeck for the loss of their loved ones.

I want to thank our witnesses for being with us this morning and helping the committee with its work.

Almost 14 years after the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the American public does not yet have all of the information available regarding the circumstances surrounding those attacks on our country, particularly 28 pages…