The voting machine did not record my vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 284. ____________________

In my home State of Pennsylvania, where today we meet in the historic State Capitol Building, the epidemic has hit especially hard.

This is a crisis that has affected the entire American homeland.

Our Nation is in the midst of a deadly epidemic.

Despite this disheartening reality, I am proud of my State for taking a strong and unified stance in its response to the opioid crisis.

There are important parts of the bulwark of democracy that we need to continue to work on.

I am concerned that we are not headed in the right place there and I just want to get your thoughts on that.

I find no favor with the Erdogan regime and I think it's a matter of if, not a matter of when.

I am concerned and have written letters regarding the train and equip program in Iraq and the Shi'a Crescent.

The current U.S. sugar program represents an anti-free market scheme that imposes a massive hidden tax on both American businesses and consumers for the benefit of a small, concentrated group of special interests. People say, well, we have…

I have seen first-hand the importance of maintaining the Department's transparency and accountability to Congress and the American people.

But don't we want to side on law enforcement and collect that DNA while we have those people?

This staggering milestone is a reminder of the troubling fiscal realities facing our Nation and a legacy of years of irresponsible spending under the Obama administration.

I want to keep the conversation open on that.

We want to strive for that, right?

I am therefore pleased to see that the President's fiscal year 2019 budget request prioritizes funding the important missions carried out by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

It seems like the current parole policy is actually a magnet.

I thank the gentleman from New York for bringing this issue to light. As you can see, I am serving in this uniform. We are all citizens here tonight. No one outranks another. As a matter of fact, we all serve at the pleasure of our…

Nobody on this dais and nobody in this country that I know of wants to be in a world with China, but if it means that we must then kowtow and continue to kowtow to China to support a free and democratic Taiwan, then we have to do, we are…

It is long past time for DHS and GSA to take responsibility at St. Elizabeths.

If headquarters consolidation remains a priority, continued mismanagement moving forward is unacceptable.

Despite significant accomplishments, however, organizational and management challenges continue to hinder DHS's ability to operate as a fully matured agency.

Unfortunately, today--2 years past the original scheduled completion date--this vision is still far from reality.

DHS has real challenges to overcome to be sure, from securing the border to guarding our Nation's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.

I am concerned about the Confucius Institute and their operations in the United States, the amount of students that they have studying here.