This is the American dream just slipping through our fingers for millions of working Americans.

Last month, I joined more than 200 Members in the House and Senate to send a letter to President Obama renewing our request that the President issue an Executive order banning contractors from receiving Federal Government contracts unless…

So I just wanted to emphasize that message back to you.

Over time, that makes a difference, a significant difference, as we think about having accurate indexes for areas that it might be applied, such as in Social Security.

I will just note that the 2015 proposals take the discretionary grant funds from 10 percent of the budget to 16 percent of the budget.

There should be a vote on something as key to our Constitution as equality and opportunity.

If our students are unable to begin purchasing a home early in their life and, therefore--and homeownership is the major builder of personal family wealth for working Americans, doesn't that amplify the inequality of wealth in our society?

My concern here is that this is the heart of the American dream, that there is a full opportunity to thrive for every American.

Does this reflect kind of a philosophical issue over whether education is a public good that not only benefits individual children but strengthens society as a whole?

Thank you for the work that your Department does facilitating exports which are so important to nurturing manufacturing.

We need a lot of cooperation in trying to pursue the electronic monitoring.

But, it's important to our system in the United States that the powerful don't pay a fine while the ordinary person goes to prison.

I think what really stuck in my mind is that, the same week that the settlement came out with HSBC, ... it just seemed like the sort of thing that sticks in people's minds as to whether the justice system is not weighted heavily in favor…

The SAFE Act that Senator Tom Udall and I are championing stops these predatory practices.

I do want to thank you for being a cosponsor on the Wildfire Disaster Fund because that is key to a lot of things that we are talking about.

I want to encourage the Forest Service to find a way to complete that commitment to the community.

If we can phenomenally increase the quality of life for millions of people across this country, why do we not do it?

I did not see anything in there that explained why someone would choose a 500 percent loan.

I must say, there is an ecstatic community in John Day, Oregon and the Forest Service was instrumental in developing the innovation of using a service contract rather than a harvest contract to have that 10-year plan.

There is no cap in the bill, right?

Why would anyone in Oregon want to go from a 36 percent cap to no limit?

But the budget has been cut by $10.5 million.

I do feel like there are a lot of very sensitive landscapes that have fallen off the list in recent years.

I will just leave that as a concern I have for that particular area and the challenges that are faced in managing it appropriately.

I certainly am very supportive of that.