This is one of my most momentous occasions here in the House of Representatives. We are recognizing the men and women who died in service of this great Nation and understanding that when they left here, they left families behind. These are…

I'd like to thank the Chairwoman from California, my esteemed colleague from Illinois, and their staffs for helping us get this bill to the floor. From the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan, ``The tree of liberty must be…

I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 554. Personal explanation

Domestic abuse is a serious national issue. On average, nearly 20 people a minute in the United States are physically abused by a partner.

I continue to oppose. Like I said, it is overly vague and broad. With the right words added to this, this could be something that works and that is helpful. But, in its current form, I can't support it. Mr. Chair, I continue to ask my…

I thank Mr. Takano, my friend from California, for entering this amendment. Mr. Chair, I do continue to oppose this amendment. But with that I just ask that he look at making it a little more finite and making it a little less vague, and…

I cannot understand why we lose them when we get home.

This is unacceptable and we all have a responsibility to fix this issue.

We are at a crisis point.

We cannot overstate the central role that our service members play in making the United States the most lethal military in the world.

Given the challenge in the recruiting environment, it is crucial that the services leverage every tool available to understand what motivates qualified individuals to serve in the military and stay.

However, before making additional changes to personnel management, we need to clearly understand the problem.

We don't need to throw out the baby with the bath water.

One sexual assault is too many. One that goes unaccounted for is too many.

I want to thank our witnesses for being here today and your continued service to our great Nation.

There can be no doubt that the United States military is the greatest in the world and that the key to our success is the people.

To me personnel is the key--equipment can always be replaced but personnel is the key cornerstone in all military operations.

You all met, meet, or exceed the standards for accession and retention in the military and that you did not ask for nor would you have wanted reduced standards or special treatment.

It is a bedrock principle of the Department of Defense [DOD] that any eligible individual who can meet the high standards for military service without special accommodations should be permitted to serve.

Today I would just like to give thanks to be able to be here at this State of the Union to hear about what our wonderful Nation is doing. It is such an honor to be here, and to have the opportunity to be present during one of these State…

It was going to touch every--and it was so overreaching, and I don't even know all the areas it really touched because it was just huge.

I commend the Committee for all the work that has been done to bring broadband to rural America.

Our work ethic here is second to none.

the best ideas come to Washington, not from Washington.

Our governor and our state really works hard to bring industry into Mississippi.