I could not agree more with my friend from Massachusetts, who has actually spent the time getting inside this program. In fact, if the Republicans really care about hungry people in this country, these legislative efforts are a strange way…

I appreciate the gentlelady's courtesy. Mr. Speaker, one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talked about our being the ``greatest Nation in the world,'' but Republicans are running it like a banana republic. People who ran out…

Today is the ninth day of the Republican shutdown, what started as a tantrum against the Affordable Care Act to defund it, then morphed into a demand to delay it for a year, but now is really an open assault on our system of government…

We begin the second week of the Republican government shutdown. The proximate cause was the Republican effort to delay money that the government needs to fund the Affordable Care Act, to stop the Affordable Care Act. Well, it is also now…

Welcome to the alternative universe in the House of Representatives. We just voted, as we knew we would, to pay the furloughed workers when the shutdown ends, as we knew we would. What started as a right-wing tantrum to defund ObamaCare…

Today is the last day on Capitol Hill for Janine Benner, my deputy chief of staff. Janine and her husband, Greg Dotson, a key member of the Commerce Committee, are a true Capitol Hill power couple--not the type that you see in the society…

The floor of this House has been the scene of many heated exchanges of late--the shutdown controversy around the Affordable Care Act and budget differences--but in the midst of some real tension and frustration, there was a bright spot…

This is day two of the Republican shutdown, holding America hostage. The stated objective of their fury is what they feel to be the ``unconstitutional'' Affordable Care Act that will wreck the economy and destroy health care in America…

One of the cornerstones of my lifetime of public service has been to work on bipartisanship. I have a long record of working with Republican Governors and Senators back home in Oregon. Here in Congress, every major initiative I've advanced…

As we approach the government shutdown Republicans manufactured by sending a proposal to the Senate they know is unacceptable and is not workable, there is an opportunity for Republican colleagues to show that they are serious and not…

We are here in the Capitol awaiting a decision by the Republicans in the House about the next step to deal with the fiscal crisis they have created. It is not really that complicated. The Monday deadline approaches to continue the…

It is interesting listening to the parade of horribles recounted on the floor of the House today; but as a practical matter, in States like mine, in Oregon, people are going to get better coverage at lower costs--and California, New York…

In 2007, I introduced the first legislation to help the Iraqi and Afghan nationals that helped Americans in those countries to get them to safety in the United States. These are the people who were interpreters, guides, and drivers--people…

For the past 5 years, I have been working to try and help keep the promise we made to Iraqis and Afghans who helped our soldiers in those battles that we will protect them as we leave. Because they helped America, their lives are in great…

I appreciate the gentlewoman's courtesy, as I appreciate, actually, the hard work of the Appropriations Committee that has been placed in an impossible situation. We still have pending the T-HUD bill. If people were serious about cutting…

I strongly oppose this misguided attempt to cut almost $40 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. I do not believe that depriving between 4 and 6 million Americans, and 105,000 Oregonians, of access to food will change…

As the House Republicans prepare to shut down the government and threaten the global economy with debt ceiling blackmail, it's ironic that they refuse to allow their Members to vote on their own spending bills. They even refused to allow a…

I appreciate the recognition of the signing of our Constitution, which has been described as a document created by geniuses for a government that could be run by idiots. It looks pretty idiotic around here today to have been driven into a…

Let's be clear: this is not about the integrity of the tax system. There are any number of areas where we rely far more on discretion to individual taxpayers, and there's no appetite, actually, to move in those areas. My Republican friends…

This is sort of a charade that's going on today. Our Republican friends allow, for example, businesses to self-certify in a whole range of other areas. This is not about that. What this is, is another attempt to sabotage health care…

In less than 3 weeks, the Special Immigrant Visa program expires. This is something we created to help bring people who served Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan as interpreters, guides, drivers, people who helped our soldiers, who put…

This is, indeed, a sober day of reflection on the events of 9/11. Twelve years ago today, I was on the floor of the House when we got word of the first attacks. It unleashed a series of horrific events, but those events continue to this…

Congress returns to Washington this week after a month connecting with people at home, hopefully with a little time with family and friends. Some think our overwhelming agenda was made nearly impossible with the Syrian question, which no…

This is a fitting conclusion to a week that has shown the collapse of the Republican legislative agenda. Remember, this is the time we were supposed to be voting on budgets, but the Republicans cannot even bring themselves to allow a vote…

As an administrator and policymaker at the local, state, and federal levels, I have often seen the value of common-sense regulations that save lives. I have also seen the challenges associated with cumbersome regulations that are difficult…