DOL lacks authority to issue any regulations for the H-2B program

I can tell you I am hearing nothing but praise back home from veterans' groups and senior groups for the type of work that you are doing.

So how can something so important to the economy, so important to the success of small business, with folks on both sides of the aisle saying that small businesses really create jobs in America, how is it possible the SEC does not even…

We should not be measuring the success of the American economy, if you will, simply by GDP but by how many families have living-wage jobs and how many families have the financial foundations to have a quality life.

Just take my remarks as an encouragement that something so important to the economy deserves to be near the top of the list.

I want to ask a specific question about the way that wire transfers are utilized in money laundering.

How can anyone believe that there is justice, that if you take $100,000 you only get charged 10 percent of it?

How do we explain that that is a system of justice in the United States of America?

I do not find that 1 percent of their profits over the time period of this conduct really sends a chilling message that this is unacceptable.

It does certainly say to us we are a long ways from getting there if we are that concerned about any form of shakiness in these large banks.

Doesn't it make sense for us to shut down some of these loopholes and basically protect programs that support core services to the middle class?

Would it make more sense to end the spending on that tax loophole or to cut Head Start, special education, and title I?

Education Is an Investment That Should Not Be Cut

There is a lot more spending than that on tax loopholes.

So when I hear folks on both sides of the aisle talking about a 50/50 plan for revenue and expenditure reductions, is that anywhere close to what is being pursued now with sequestration?

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

If I spend $5,000 on affordable housing on a tax credit, and I spend $5,000 that I appropriate, isn't it basically the same $5,000?

I move to lay that on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 11

the argument is often made that Social Security, the premiums go into the trust fund, the trust fund lends money out to earn a modest return, comes back, and they proceed to disburse it when folks become eligible.

I hope that if we can accomplish this, we can also include forest health jobs in our national forests.

Has the President and his team carefully looked at such measures and tried to evaluate them in terms of fairness to our seniors?

I want to emphasize the point that has been made about the disability claims.

I applaud the 17-percent decrease in homelessness.

So we are looking at another set of decisions, and right now we are on a course to have a significant drop in defense and non-defense discretionary programs.

I think that is very important because at the heart of this is an issue of fairness.