I clearly recognize how vital a part of our economy the work of the community of arts and culture has been.

I wanted to thank Chairman McCarthy and Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Platts for holding this very significant hearing.

I am particularly concerned about it because I have a juvenile facility in my district in Brooklyn, New York.

Everyday we hear and read in the news how the increasing number of mortgage foreclosures poses a financial threat to local housing markets, financial institutions, homeowners, and State and local governments.

I respectfully urge this committee to support President Obama's request, which is an important step in the right direction towards fully funding the CDBG program.

I believe that the fiscal year 2010 budget is this country's first major step and blueprint for fiscal recovery, stability and responsibility.

I also look forward to working in the same bipartisan spirit that the previous Chairman and Ranking Member carried on their work.

I will begin by recognizing myself for an opening statement.

Victims of crime and witnesses should be able to come forward and talk to the police freely without fear of being arrested or deported.

I am particularly concerned about the lack of internal controls, oversight and accountability in the 287(g) program.

As the new Chair of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science, and Technology in the 111th Congress, I am encouraged that one of your first acts in office you issued an action directive on cybersecurity instructing…

It is important that we sort of evolve into a more proactive approach, because at a certain point the saturation of that list becomes really something that we can't use as an accurate tool to be able to address our main concern, which is…

Recently, the House unanimously passed H.R. 559, a bill I sponsored which requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to furnish the comprehensive cleared list to all DHS components and to other Federal and State and local and tribal…

I was so happy to hear that you are looking at that system, because there are hard-working rank-and-file employees working for USCIS, but they don't have the tools available to them to do the processing in an expedient manner.

nearly everyone in the homeland security community agrees that having a single comprehensive list of terrorist suspects is an important tool in keeping America safe. However, there are flaws in how the terrorist watch list is maintained…

The challenges that they faced served as the brainchild for this legislation. I ask my colleagues to join me in the restoration of civil liberties, creating a truly fair, accurate, secure and timely redress process. I ask them to join me…

Ranking Member Lungren, nearly everyone in the homeland security community agrees that having a single comprehensive list of terrorist suspects is an important tool in keeping America safe. However, there are flaws in how the terrorist…

moving from food for fuel to food for food, we come to the floor tonight to talk about the international food crisis. We're going to look at the causes and effects and possible solutions. We're also going to take a closer look at the…

yesterday, both the Washington Post and the New York Times reported that under the Bush administration the military has increasingly granted so-called ``conduct waivers'' to allow more people with criminal records, including drug…

What it is is the coming of age. Our economy is evolving in ways that generations before us could have never imagined. That means that we have to redouble our efforts when it comes to the education of our young. We have to come up with the…

The achievement gap is real. It is well-documented. And if these children had that Head Start, had the early childhood education, it closes the achievement gap by leaps and bounds. The clock to education doesn't start when we slide that…

That's right. So there are some real challenges that we have to look squarely in the eye. And we have to ask ourselves what about the children? How are we preparing ourselves to sacrifice as a society to make sure that in 10 years, in 20…

As I have said, since I've been on the Hill these past 15 months and have looked just about every crisis in the eye from mortgage foreclosure to the war in Iraq to you name it, education, health care, it all points back to the fact that we…

Just think about the mobility of a family that is unable to have their child care subsidized, the time that it will take for them to be able to gain firm footing once their children now get into public schools. And then the challenges they…

I don't think there is a dollar value that can you truly put on the work that these women and men do with our youngest, most vulnerable ones. And they make that sacrifice. Wouldn't it be awesome if they were rewarded and our communities…