That youngster should have the same opportunity as any youngster anywhere in the world to realize his or her full potential.

I often refer to this Hall as America's classroom. I do that because I do believe that, as we conduct ourselves here on this floor, it is to set an example for all citizens, especially our young citizens, who look in on our proceedings and…

I view what I do now as a ministry of public service.

In one of his great books, Martin Luther King, Jr., asked the question: Where do we go from here--chaos or community? Mr. Speaker, today, 50 years after Selma, that question is still in need of an answer. One area in need of aggressive…

Thank you so much, Mr. Payne, for yielding me time. I appreciate your accolades, and I promise you that my long, distant memory is getting very good, but I assure you that your contributions to this great body are very much appreciated…

I want to thank my friend, Mr. Smith, for allowing me to share this time with him. Mr. Speaker, in keeping with the tradition of the First Amendment--a law deeply ingrained in the core of American values--I would like to put into the…

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, like most Americans, I spent the holidays with family and friends reflecting on the blessings of the past year. There were many. Since 2009, the stock market has soared another 10,000…

I rise this morning to stand with my fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus to pay tribute to the outstanding leadership of our outgoing chair, Marcia Fudge of Ohio. Chair Fudge has done much more than occupy a position in her…

I thank the gentlelady for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, we in this body are called upon to represent the wishes of the American people. The last national election, President Obama was reelected by the American people by an…

I rise this morning to denounce the unprecedented political attack House Republicans are bringing to the floor of this House. This week, this body will consider a measure to bring a lawsuit against the President of the United States for…

I have no further speakers at this time. I yield back the balance of my time, and I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 3375.

I want to thank the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Representative Marcia Fudge, for yielding time to me on this important resolution. I also want to commend her for her leadership on this initiative to pay appropriate…

It contains our 10-20-30 initiative, requiring that at least 10 percent of Federal funds in certain accounts are directed to areas that have had a poverty rate of 20 percent or more for the last 30 years. Mr. Chairman, our budgets should…

I thank the gentlelady for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the Republican budget and in support of the alternative put forth by the Congressional Black Caucus. Put simply, the Republican budget is bad…

When President Lyndon Johnson declared a war on poverty in his 1964 State of the Union address, the poverty rate in this, the richest country on Earth, was 19 percent. His Great Society legislation, a continuation of President Franklin…

In 1964, when President Johnson declared war on poverty, this, the richest Nation in the world, had a poverty rate of 19 percent. By 1973, 9 years later, that rate had been brought down to 11 percent. We were definitely winning the war on…

I thank the gentlelady for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, when President Johnson stood in this Chamber 50 years ago and declared war on poverty, the richest country in the world had a poverty rate of 19 percent. President Johnson…

And I am hopeful when we get back here after the first of the year that we will move and do as we have done in the past, pass unemployment insurance, make it retroactive to January 1 so those people who find themselves unemployed through…

Let me thank my friend, Mr. Van Hollen, for yielding me this time. I want to thank him and Mrs. Nita Lowey for the tremendous work they did in keeping this effort moving forward in a very positive way. I also want to thank Chairman Ryan…

Then I saw some reference as to whether or not people who may have been convicted of a felony, what it would do to their qualifications, as well as their family qualifications. At one instance--I hope this is out of the bill--we talked…

I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak on this bill because I have worked very hard over the years helping to put together various farm bills, and this is one that I felt very, very good about from the…

One of the great pleasures that I have had serving in this august body is the people with whom I have interacted over the years, and one such person is Representative Bill Young. Now, I know that we have a lot of issues to be discussing…

I am pleased my friend would yield me 30 seconds. I want to take a little time to say I have been hearing from the veterans in my congressional district. I represent counties that have two VA centers. We have two of the most, I believe…

I would like to acquaint you and my colleagues with Mr. Butch Matthews, a 61-year-old former small businessman from Little Rock, Arkansas, who used to wake up every morning at 4 a.m. to deliver canned beverages to retailers before retiring…

We all know that for a full day now we've been hearing all kinds of anecdotes about what may or may not have taken place on yesterday as people were signing up for the first time for the Affordable Care Act. Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to…