José E. Serrano

I am one who believes that, notwithstanding the omnibus situation that we always have at the end of the year, it is not this committee that causes that.

Gridlock may be democracy working.

A strong and vigilant SEC is vital to protecting not just those who invest in the financial markets, but the American people as a whole.

I had the pleasure of going up there to the dedication ceremony for the Minidoka Dam.

the attitude with the territories is whatever is left over.

cutting Cuba off has not worked

I think it is a loophole. I think it ought to be plugged.

the President's announcements on Cuba and Cuba travel have been met with great support from a lot of people

Your budget request for this fiscal year is quite reasonable, in my opinion, given the large and growing oversight role that you are expected to undertake.

I do not want to sound like a Republican, but----

I hope we are not putting them at risk in any way, because that is an agency that has been very effective in my community.

And let me just in closing say that this will be the last time you come before us, I think, in an official capacity.

I sometimes can't tell the difference--and I will be as blunt as I can--between your agency and the CIA on that issue.

Conservation is the most conservative ideal, it is a progressive ideal.

How do we get into a country that doesn't want us to be there? For example, Cuba.

This is not just about preserving wildlife; it is about keeping money out of terrorists' hands.

But to bring Puerto Rico to its knees when it is already on one knee would just be adding more pain to a situation that is very painful.

Our biggest challenge will not be finding a solution or getting what Speaker Ryan has promised to take place. It is going back to the same issue of how do you give the territory the needed assistance while not making it more of a colony.

I find myself in a unique situation. I was born in the colony and now I am a Member of Congress of the group that holds the colony.

The only solution is to resolve the political status--117 years is a long, long time for Puerto Rico to be a colony, and it is about time that it ended.

I thank the gentlewoman and our leader. This is a very bittersweet moment for me. On one hand, I am so proud of what my staff and I and other Members and your staff did to make the financial services portion of this bill much better, much…

I thank Ms. Plaskett for the time, and thank both Mr. Walker and Ms. Plaskett for that wonderful presentation of the life of one of my predecessors, Herman Badillo. And so rather than get into the details that have already been mentioned…

I thank my colleague for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, as my colleague has said, in 2007 he added a provision to the original America COMPETES Act to give the NSF the discretion to establish a dedicated grant program. However, after…

Whenever we think about what Congress does, it is the 50 States, and then the territories are left out.

Okay. Just checking.