José E. Serrano

First of all, if this is not a political stunt for the public and for those talk shows to carry in support, then why are we debating for 40 minutes an amendment that I accepted at the beginning and almost interrupted the gentleman in…

It's somewhat a hesitant approach to being against it for the simple reason that we're not sure on this side if his amendment accomplishes anything. The way the amendment is written, some would argue that what the gentleman does is remove…

the provisions of this bill ensure that when Federal employees compete with private contractors, it will be done on a level playing field. The administration's push to contract out Federal employees' jobs is part of a massive push towards…

I know that you would not be able to present this kind of an approach anywhere else except when it comes to dealing with the District of Columbia because it is, for all intents and purposes, a territory or a colony. And I take that very…

my point would be until at least one of those investigations has concluded, which has gotten quite a bit of publicity in this country and been discussed widely, we should not be cutting what is not a large budget.

just one comment. First of all, the committee received a letter in support of removing the prohibition signed by 29 leaders of medical, public health and social service organizations. In addition, while drug use is illegal, users should…

The Special Counsel has been asked to look at various issues, including violations of the Hatch Act.

Mr. Chairman, it is amazing. If folks on the other side keep saying tax increase, they are actually going to believe that there is a tax increase. What I notice is that they very rarely mention deficit because when they do, they leave…

I have a problem if we set in motion a wave of desire and push to force local people to do it. And what we hear from local law enforcement is that they're under incredible pressure, political pressure, from elected officials to join a…

Mr. Chairman, this may go down as the meanest and most misguided amendment of the evening. TPS has been known and worked as a proper legal statement by the U.S. government to give protection to people who are in situations where they…

this may be one of those classic moments where we are dealing with something that really isn't broken. The fact of life is that everybody at every local government and in every locality throughout this country knows what the law is and…

I think you said it well. The problem here is that we have in place documentation that is acceptable for these kinds of crossings. Yes, as we go forward, we have to make sure that we secure our borders. But to undo that which has been…

It's clear, it should be clear to Members what this amendment does and what this program does. This, in fact, has local law enforcement enforcing immigration law. This is the most unpopular and rejected program within law enforcement in…

It may be voluntary, but what happens is that local elected officials who sound like some of us here begin to put pressure on the police department to get into the program when, indeed, just about every law enforcement agency, local law…

Reclaiming my time, it's just, with all due respect to my brother, Mr. Rogers, it's just bad policy. It is not the way to get at an issue. We are now dealing with the Senate, and we will be dealing in the House with an immigration reform…

Mr. Chairman, we have been down this road before in this discussion, and it's easily something that the other party wants to do in spite of the fact that their local governments tell them they don't want this done. I think the public and…

I was doing some math, and I am sure my colleagues are aware of this. If you are not, you might be shocked. We spent 10 hours on a debate to cut $8 million from the general counsel. Now, you talk about waste. This place runs, the…

last night and most of yesterday we saw a very unfortunate situation take place on the House floor: discussions, anger, tempers, and very little on the substance or the bill or the work of the committee. I rise today to remind us of the…

This is, indeed, a very solemn occasion; and anyone watching this debate, either on television or in the gallery, should understand that we take very seriously what we say here today. We may disagree on what the final outcome should be…

I thank the gentleman. You are right. Perhaps it is that example that I present to you that shows why the system is broken. Because my parents chose to move in 1950 to New York, I am able to be a Member of Congress with full voting rights…

so much tonight has been said about Tom Manton and so much more can be said. What I would like to do for a couple of minutes is focus on my personal relationship with him and what role he played and the conversations we had about what he…

Mr. Speaker it is with great pleasure that I rise today to bid farewell to Mr. Tim Friedman, a dear, trusted friend, who will retire after 30 years of service to his country. A native of Lackawanna, NY, Tim arrived in Washington in 1976…

I am sorry Dr. Weldon is reluctantly rising. But, first of all, I notice that three of the gentleman's 10 amendments are directed at New York. I do not know what you are angry about; the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees in the World Series…

Yes. And I told you it was and I used the name that is appropriate for it. Call it a typographical error.

the gentleman from Arizona's use of certain ethnic words like ``cannoli'' and ``prosciutto'' indicate that he takes this more lightly than he should. This is a serious thing that he is trying to do here. I know he is on this mission to…