the Puerto Rican people send only a single member to the House of Representatives who may only vote in legislative committees and in the Committee of the Whole.

Puerto Rico's current status remains as unincorporated territory of the United States, subject to the control of Congress under Article IV of the U.S. Constitution.

That status should be revisited for the treatment and opportunities it provides to the people of Puerto Rico.

residents of Puerto Rico, despite having a population size equal to or greater than almost half the states, have no representation in the Senate.

I come here with a great deal of conflict. I've been at war with myself whether to come here and vigorously oppose this nomination or to support it.

I think she is an absolutely tremendous appointee who I hope will speed through the Senate with all due haste.

It has been an honor serving with you and I know the House is in good hands with your leadership.

In a Congress that is too often polarized along partisan lines, Congresswoman Tauscher has won friends and respect on both sides of the aisle.

I therefore am testifying on behalf of her outstanding character, integrity, and ability to take on a demanding and essential job as Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.

The Full Service Community Schools Act would fund partnerships between schools and community organizations.

I do want to acknowledge most particularly the efforts of the Majority Leader, Congressman Steny Hoyer, who has played such a key role in this regard.

I don't think the White House has the ability to tell us what to do.

I rise to note the service of a great American, a good man, who has advantaged this House, his State, and the American people by his service. Today, we honor a man who has sat in this Chamber for nearly a quarter of its existence. Think…

That is the diligence we would expect from any lender--and how much more so when the source of the funds is the American taxpayer, when the principal runs in 12 digits and when the stakes are so high. That is why we acted yesterday. I am…

I voted for it. I believe that they were a response to what we have seen is a lack of transparency, a lack of as much accountability as the taxpayer has the right to expect, and also the failure of the TARP funds already approved to help…

Essentially, if I might clarify for our Members and their constituents, obviously the vote today was symbolic and everybody knew it was symbolic. Symbolic to the extent that the Senate voted last week, as the gentleman pointed out, to…

The gentlelady is absolutely correct, and of course that provision was included by Chairman Frank in the original legislation, and it was included by Chairman Frank so that we would have this opportunity to make a second judgment. My…

Extraordinary life. His bust is in the Rotunda. It is a real honor to be able to honor his birth and his message and his vision on Monday. This is a particularly auspicious recognition of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. How proud he…

I may have said we were going to give 48 hours, but we did not give 48 hours, the gentleman is correct. The gentleman probably knows the reason we didn't give 48 hours is because we hadn't gotten a CBO scoring, so we were unable to…

My expectation is we're going to have it on the floor next week. Members on both sides want to vote on it, but as I said, it will not have any legal effect if the Senate defeats the resolution of disapproval.

The gentleman is correct. In the legislation which was passed pursuant to the request of President Bush and Secretary Paulson authorizing the TARP, they had asked for, as you know, $700 billion in one lump sum. We believe, the majority on…

I think historically the Ways and Means Committee has generally reflected a greater majority membership than the specific ratio of the parties on the floor of the House.

We have a crisis that confronts us. We have lost over 2.5 million jobs. We lost a million jobs in the last 2 months. People are hurting. We have and I know of you have a sense of urgency. We have worked with this administration to try to…

last fall, at the urging of President Bush, Treasury Secretary Paulson, and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, Congress took extraordinary action to stabilize America's financial markets and limit the scope of an economic crisis. I know…

I must say, following the last speaker, I think the last speaker is absolutely wrong. I think he misrepresented very substantially the facts of this bill, which strengthens verification. This administration, the Bush administration, will…