And how we got here was we met in rooms around this Capitol for a number of weeks, 2 or 3 weeks, as I recall. And the President of the United States, George W. Bush, in his last year of presidency, or in the last several years of his…

It is my honor to introduce to you and to our colleagues today our newest member of the Pennsylvania delegation, Mark Critz. Congressman Critz is a dedicated public servant to the people of western Pennsylvania. For more than a decade…

Today I voted for legislation designed to improve the affordability and accessibility of health care. Americans already spend more on health care than the people of any other nation. If we take no action, health care costs are expected to…

And colleagues, I rise today to honor our friend and one of the outstanding Members of this House, Jack Murtha, who represented Pennsylvania's 12th district, and to remember his devotion to his work in this Congress, his strength of…

As most Members of this Chamber know, we recently lost a dear friend and colleague. Congressman Jack Murtha passed away on February 8 after complications from gallbladder surgery. Jack recently became the longest-serving Member of Congress…

And colleagues, it is with great sadness as well as a great deal of honor that I rise this evening to commemorate and to celebrate the life of our friend and colleague, Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania's 12th District. As we mourn…

Their testimony was quite clear that it was their opinion that the failure of any one of them, and particularly Chrysler, would cause systemic risk if they were allowed to fail.

I sympathize with the constituents of my friend from New York, Mr. Ackerman. When you hear some of the stories from the testimony of the Inspector General, that if only somebody turned around when they were examining the Madoff operation…

The pain that the majority of my constituents and probably so many constituents around the country--they are not going to trust any of us.

But I am curious, should we not now take the opportunity to reform some of the structure of government, particularly by merging the CFTC and the SEC?

Part of the question I have is something I hear from many of my constituents, particularly after the most recent financial crisis in the country; they ask the question why, after mistakes are made by people in various positions of…

I believe, in addition to empowering regulators with new and improved authority to watch over our Nation's financial health, we should also empower the owners of these companies to have more control and to align management interest with…

I have never seen anything in the world more devious or backdoor to come in to Federal regulation than doing it this way, and with the least amount of real direct effect.

The Republican plan that was put forward last week addresses various policies that put the taxpayer at risk, but has no bail-out in the future.

I don't think it's a mystery to anyone in the country that Delaware is a home place for corporations to incorporate.

Clearly, Congress must prevent future activities from endangering our financial system, similar to what we witnessed with AIG, Bear Stearns, and Lehman Brothers last year.

The ongoing financial crisis has made it apparent to nearly everyone that we must move the over-the-counter derivatives market from one that takes place under the table to one that happens out in the open.

We are setting ourselves up to fail. We are not going to regulate this, I get the sense of it right now.

If Congress missteps, we run the risk of driving this market overseas and limiting the ability of companies to manage risks associated with their business practices.

If this body is to create new regulations in the OTC markets to decrease the possibility of systemic risk and increase transparency, Congress must ensure robust competition and protect the ability of American businesses to use these…

In short, the time for common-sense regulation of this vast industry has arrived.

In the end, however, regulation must not be a one-size-fits-all system. Such a system stifles innovation, raises prices for consumers, punishes entrepreneurs, and destroys jobs.

What obligation does the Federal Government have to do anything?

Who says that the government should have a role in ownership of real estate?