I rise with a very simple amendment. It would do nothing more than call for a GAO report of the maritime security fleet. I do so because I think that we would all acknowledge that knowledge is power, and the ability to look very closely at…

I would say this: in essence, we already have outsourced this. I think the question about the maritime security fleet is that it is currently run by a foreign-flagged fleet of vessels. If I am not mistaken, it is almost exclusively run by…

I would again go back to the basics. This stipend goes to Maersk presently. It has been raised from $3.5 million to $5 million. Maybe that is the best thing in the world to do; maybe it is not. But I think it is worthy of study…

Because I was in Nashville, Tennessee attending my son Landon's graduation from Vanderbilt University today, I was not present to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall 190, ``aye'' on rollcall 191, ``yea'' on…

I want to applaud my colleagues from Kansas and from Colorado for their work in crafting this bill. I think it is awfully important. I think it is what people expect. When they think about government, they want a government that works for…

Edward Gibbon wrote a book back in 1776 about the fall of the Romans. In it, he harkens back to the fall of Greece and the Athenians. He said, at the end of the day, in the end, more than they wanted freedom, they wanted security. They…

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 2, after line 17, insert the following: (c) Consultation With Taxpayer Advocate.--In developing the…

I have a small but, I think, perfecting amendment that I think, whether Republican or Democrat, we can agree on. Because I think as Republicans and Democrats, we may have different perspectives on this equation, but we would agree that…

I thank my colleague for doing this. I think it is such an important issue. I think that, as has been mentioned by a couple of speakers now, what is really at play here is a constitutional issue. The Founding Fathers were so emphatically…

I just want to borrow maybe 5 minutes worth of your time just to talk about this issue of Puerto Rico. You have touched on it in different ways. You were talking about constitutional issues just a moment ago, and I want to follow up on…

If the gentleman would yield, and then I will leave it to you. You hit on Luis Fortuno, and I do want to shout out, I worked with him in a former role in government, and you are absolutely correct. What he tried to do, I think, was brave…

I thank the gentleman from Georgia, and I thank him for the way he highlighted great action from folks there at home. I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________