I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) and the gentlewoman from Washington State (Ms. Jayapal) for organizing tonight's Special Order hour on this very important topic. I join my colleagues in expressing my strong opposition to…

This is the opportunity from my perspective to put the U.N. on a performance enhancement plan.

There is no question that the United Nations has continually placed an unfair and biased lens on Israel.

So we need to be proactive and make certain that over the next months and whatever the period of time is that the pragmatic politicians on the Palestinian side get a victory or two.

The United Kingdom is one of our oldest and most important allies.

A free trade agreement would boost Britain and America's economies while also strengthen the Anglo-American special relationship, for decades the engine and beating heart of the free world.

A stronger Britain on the world stage, able to act as a truly sovereign, independent nation, is a far better partner for the United States.

I was proud to join thousands of women in the Women's March, both here in DC and in my home state of Rhode Island. We marched to demand that women's rights be respected and that women should be trusted to make their own decisions. However…

So I urge my colleagues to support this very straightforward amendment in the name of transparency and urge all members of the committee to recognize the value of learning this information before we hear from witnesses in the coming…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I thank you and Ranking Member Engel for your leadership on this committee.

It has been a great pleasure to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee and offer this amendment, which is quite simple.

I regret that anyone has seen this as a partisan issue.

I think if this question were posed to witnesses before the hearing... that is the whole point of putting it in the rules.

If the gentleman is yielding, I think there is no suggestion in the rule that an unwitting failure to disclose carries any penalty.

I implore my colleagues not to see this as a partisan issue.

Yes. The amendment I believe uses the language 'has.' So it means current arrangements, affiliations, relationships, or substantial financial interests.

These two disclosures will allow the members of our committee to have a thorough understanding of any interests or previous connections which may play a role in a witness' perspective on the issues on which he or she is testifying.

the burden properly rests on the testifying witness to make these disclosures, and it shouldn't rest on the members of the committee

This amendment was not offered last time we were here. Had it been offered, I would have, of course, supported it.

I believe that it is wise to require full disclosure and transparency on the part of all witnesses.

It doesn't do that, Mr. Chairman. It is whether you currently have.

Amendment to the Rules of the Committee.

For 8 years, House Republicans have wrongly claimed that the Affordable Care Act will be catastrophic for hardworking Americans. Here are the facts: since its passage, the ACA has helped cover 20 million previously uninsured Americans; 95…

I thank my friend from Pennsylvania for his comments, but the assertion that this does nothing to frustrate or jeopardize food safety is not true. This creates 60 new procedural and analytical requirements to agency action, and that will…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 36, strike line 10 and all that follows through page 37, line 9. Page 38, strike line 11 and all that…