I thank my friend from New York (Mr. Jeffries) for his excellent presentation. I want to thank Mr. Scott, who, as the gentleman observed, is one of the leaders in this Congress on the Constitution and on the law and on equal justice. I…

the FBI needs a new facility.

The Democratic Whip Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality, and Opportunity was launched to bring to the forefront of Congress' attention the everyday challenges of Americans living in poverty. On Tuesday, the President sent us a budget…

The President says he is going to veto this bill, but the irony is--and the chairman sits on the floor--the Director of the Office of Management and Budget has submitted a budget on behalf of the administration to respond exactly to the…

The gentleman from Texas says he gets asked all the time about the national debt. He can give a very simple answer--because the Congress keeps spending money and not paying for it. That is how you incur debt; you buy things and you don't…

Am I correct, then, in saying that our target is the first week in March or the second week in March, at the latest, for the budget? Mr. McCARTHY. We are looking at that timeframe, yes.

I thank the gentleman. We certainly agree on that. I look forward to working together to address it. I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________

You gave me such a great opening. Mr. McCARTHY. The gentleman brings up a very serious issue. This is something that should not be taken lightly. This should not be partisan in any way shape or form. This is something we should get ahead…

I appreciate you keeping me posted, but my frustration is that this issue has been hanging around for a very long period of time. When Mr. Cantor had your position as majority leader, he indicated he was receptive to addressing it. The…

I was not. Mr. McCARTHY. One thing that Speaker Ryan has laid out for this body is that it is not top-down, it is bottom-up, and that we go through regular order. Committees are there to do their work. Look at the metrics of just this last…

I thank the gentleman for that. Again, I would reiterate that, on the voting rights issue, the Speaker is supportive of some legislative treatment addressing that issue. Does the gentleman have any idea when that might occur? I yield to my…

I appreciate that information. Let me discuss a number of other specific issues, if I can. First of all, the Speaker indicated that he wanted to see legislation on the floor of the House by March 31 on Puerto Rico. As you and I both know…

I thank the gentleman. I think, certainly, we agree that we ought to work together. He and I have worked together, as a matter fact, on some very significant legislation more than a month ago that passed the House. I think the American…

I thank the gentleman for that information with respect to the legislation that is going to be on the floor next week. I would simply say with respect to one of these bills, the Debt Management and Fiscal Responsibility Act, I don't know…

Reserving the right to object--and I do not intend to object--I want to thank the majority leader. I personally, as a former majority leader, appreciate the policy enunciated by the Speaker in turn to accommodate Members' schedules so that…

I thank the gentleman for that offer. I hope his feelings are not hurt when his crabs are left on the table. I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________

At this time, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the majority whip, for the purpose of giving us the schedule for the week to come.

I thank the gentleman. I would reiterate to my friend, we really do look forward to working with your side of the aisle on addressing some of the critical problems that I mentioned, that you have mentioned, that Speaker Ryan has mentioned…

I thank the gentleman for bringing up that issue. We are all privileged and honored to serve in this House with John Lewis. There is probably no Member of this House who has been recognized for greater contributions to what America stands…

Well, I appreciate the gentleman's presentation. Of course, presumably, if it is transparent, if it is open, then presumably, the Democratic members of the committee of jurisdiction on whatever issue there may be, we think we can work…

I understand that, and I appreciate the gentleman's observations. I am wondering whether or not our Members would expect, at some time in the future, to have such a bill presented for a vote on the floor so that the American people could…

I thank the gentleman for the information. I know the majority leader is not here, but I observed, with some irony, how much argument for legislation was included in the scheduling announcement. I think that is not necessarily…

The ranking member took the words right out of my mouth. There are 22 million Americans covered now that weren't covered before. Mr. Speaker, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, ``House Speaker Paul Ryan, starting this month, will…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of those who have been flustered by Jo- Marie. Jo-Marie, as all of you know, has been with this institution for over two decades. She started as an intern in the Committee…

We have seen that notion disproven several times over, and the results of experimenting with that idea have been higher deficits and a ballooning debt that fuel Republican efforts to disinvest in our future and to dismantle Medicare…