Elijah Cummings

We saw what Standard and Poor's did.

They say, what about them in a recession, what about the secretary who is only making $50,000?

At some point, we need to say, wait a minute, let us get this right.

In a day and age when China is spending 9 percent of their GDP on infrastructure, we are spending less than half of a percent.

We are about to--we have got some folks who are getting ready to run out of unemployment benefits

We have got employees who have taken a 5 percent to 10 percent cut. And we have got Federal employees who their wages have been frozen

I thank Chairman Casey for holding today's hearing to examine the most recent data on the employment situation across America.

Why would you want to impose restraint on an economic recovery that is already fragile? You are removing spending power from the economy at a time when it needs it.

When the economy is only growing a point and a half, a lot of economists feel that this is not the right time to be finding fiscal restraint.

It has always puzzled me, you know we hear these comments that we should not raise taxes on the richest of the rich during a fragile economy

I want to thank you for calling this hearing.

It is a tremendous problem in our country.

In their current forms, property disposal bills H.R. 665 and H.R. 1734 pose serious concerns for homeless service providers.

A lot of people are ending up who never thought that they would be in a homeless shelter or walking the streets without a home, they are there today.

Guns to Mexico from the United States has been a problem for an awful long time.

I want to thank the chairman for his apology, but I can attest to the fact, Mr. Chairman, that when the gentlelady and I introduced our recent bill, she basically said what she just said, that she had no problem.

Mexico is our neighbor, our ally and our friend; yet U.S. weapons are arming the world's most violent and powerful international drug cartels, costing the lives of 40,000 Mexicans in the last 4--5 years.

We have an important responsibility in this committee to thoroughly investigate allegations of waste, fraud and abuse.

There are a whole lot of people who really, really appreciate you and what you stand for.

You have already had a tremendous impact on families and generations yet unborn.

Thank you for all that you are, but also thank you for all that you are not.

And I know you share my concerns and all of our concerns. And so I really appreciate this.

There's absolutely no doubt that you bring to this agency something that is so very, very important, and that is passion.

We are talking about the five banks where the minority requested information and these banks did not provide us, Mr. Chairman, with one syllable of information.

Mr. Tierney is absolutely correct, we are talking about the custodian of the records.