It is an honor for me to speak here today on behalf of over 5,500 employers in southern Nevada.

Our job--and I am looking to my colleagues as well--is to look at every viable opportunity to rebuild our economy.

I want to thank my colleagues in the Congress for their leadership and support of this important bipartisan bill.

Phonetically, Mr. Chairman.

The immigrant story is the American story. We have always been a Nation of immigrants.

H.R. 2015 presents a very unique and balanced opportunity whereby the preservation of our past can be an economic driver of the future.

I also want to highlight just a few of those letters of support.

The consensus on this important and bipartisan bill, H.R. 2015, truly is remarkable.

Our city and county officials did important groundwork by coordinating an active coalition of local supporters.

I know Congressman Amodei and I both, having served on this committee, on a number of occasions have wanted to have the opportunity to show how partnerships can work.

The local economic benefits are clear. Tule Springs will increase tourism by attracting more travelers to southern Nevada.

I actually enjoy coming to this committee because it's actually the one time when we get have a little bit of substantive debate.

if we are going to look at things apple-to-apple comparison, then it should lay out some of the unique exemptions that that industry has enjoyed.

We need to be careful. It seems that the distractors of the wind industry are asking the government to pick winners and losers.

oil and gas has a whole lot of exemptions and loopholes that have been built into those subsidies over the 90 years.

the oil and gas industry is much more profitable than any of these other sectors

Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I thank you to our panel for being here.

I come to the floor today opposed to the potential cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, an important food program that lifts families, children, and seniors out of poverty and provides an important safety net for…

The problem of invasive species is a significant one, costing billions of dollars per year.

Is it perfect? No. Does this Congress need to do its job to make the necessary adjustments? Yes.

It is time for us as Congress to do our jobs in implementing it and moving forward.

If it goes wrong, they are going to blame us.

they just want Congress to stop playing games and to figure out ways to make the law work better.

I hope that all of us as Members of Congress and citizens of the most powerful country on Earth will listen and act as Americans; not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans.

On consideration H.R. 2609, I am not recorded because I was absent due to medically mandated recovery. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on final passage of the bill rollcall No. 345, ``aye'' on the Titus Amendment of the bill…