Joaquin Castro

Those predictions have turned out to be completely misguided and false. This country is going through an incredible economic expansion, almost 5 percent. The unemployment rate is below 6 percent. And so, as we go through this debate, I…

Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 4640 offered by the Honorable Joaquin Castro

The tragedy that is going on at our border is a direct result of the U.S. House of Representative's failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

The very best thing that we can do to dispel those rumors and to create real change and fix this is to pass comprehensive reform, and I hope that we can do that this year.

But would you, and I know that it has not been adjudicated whether he deserted or not.

I agree with part of Mr. Yoho's statement that I want to focus on the policy, the agreement that was made for Sergeant Bergdahl.

We set a goal early on, for instance, in San Antonio, of trying to create 5,000 housing units in our downtown by the year 2020.

I look forward to bringing a ton of energy to be supportive of that and to meet that goal.

I commend you for the work that you and Members of the Committee have done.

When we tackle these issues in a more holistic way, along with education, along with transit, I believe it has a bigger impact.

Is it the plan of the United States of America to hold these people forever without charge and without trial?

The idea that under no circumstances will we negotiate with the Taliban is one that has been rejected by virtually everyone.

With no other speakers, I would simply say that the worth of a nation is not measured in dollars and cents alone, by size of the military or armaments. As China's economy continues to grow into among the nations' largest, so too should its…

I am, and I just wanted to say, again, thank you to the Congresswoman, to the chairman of the committee, Chairman Royce, and Ranking Member Engel. Of course, I am here as many others are to support the bill. There was a counterargument…

I think, unfortunately, that has been the relationship with Latin America over the years, where Latin America is put on the back burner and is one of the first regions to get cut. And I don't think that is in the best interest of the…

I know there is a competition for dollars around here. And there has been over the years a dropping commitment, I believe, to foreign aid and to the United States' involvement and engagement of the world, which I don't think is good for…

I would like to take a chance to congratulate the new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

The United States, one of our jobs around the world is to make sure that we stand for democracy and for human rights.

I actually am the author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, our landmark law in combatting sex and labor trafficking.

The ICC, as we all know, has had one conviction in over a decade.

The full Foreign Affairs Committee passed my resolution that I introduced way back in September

I think any political system is subject to various types of designs, and those designs put constraints on what people can do, but they are not infallible.

So when Republicans put forward a budget that cuts off access to higher education, what they are doing is cutting off a path to the middle class for millions of Americans, and every American, young and old, should be concerned about that.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank you and Ranking Member Engel for including my amendment to H.R. 1771 in the en bloc package.

I encourage my colleagues of course to support the amendment and I thank you all for your support.