Gerry Connolly

Now, the First Amendment says that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

I think President Biden said it well in his inaugural address, that we will lead not merely by the example of our power but also by the power of our example.

It is completely inappropriate for the Administration to be pushing their policy preference on other nations.

Additionally, the Biden Administration continues to send foreign assistance to countries suffering from religious persecution on the condition that the receiving country adheres to progressive policies.

Yet the Biden Administration continues to give humanitarian assistance to Gaza without any plans or guarantees that taxpayer dollars will not go to terrorists such as Hamas.

Make no mistake: Iran holds an equal share of responsibility for all the deaths and kidnappings Hamas has inflicted on Israelis.

Yet the Biden Administration removed Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, a designation subjecting Nigeria to greater congressional scrutiny.

It is the right of every individual to worship, express, and practice their religion freely without fear.

I do not think the solution is for us to have a blanket prohibition country by country, you know, cordoning off large chunks of the world's geography because Americans are at risk.

We ought not to be in the position of prohibiting Americans from traveling frankly anywhere.

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia will be postponed. Amendment No. 157 Offered by Mr. Crane The Acting CHAIR. It is…

May I inquire as to how much time is remaining. The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Virginia has 1 minute remaining.

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following: Sec. __. None of the funds…

It's time we talk about implied powers under Article I, that are Legislative powers.

The prerogative of war making is exclusively granted to the Congress of the United States.

I think the Administration is going to have trouble with an AUMF on the Democrat side.

Is it not also true that under President Trump and Ambassador Khalilzad, those negotiations led to the release of five thousand Taliban prisoners, many of whom we'd tagged as terrorists.

I wish they'd been equally concerned about the Taliban when the previous President, President Trump, ordered negotiations under Ambassador Khalilzad.

A lot of people who opposed JCPOA were proved wrong. They did not cheat. They, in fact, complied.

Thank you for the collaboration you and I have experienced over the years, making common cause with our allies and NATO in the terrible depraved war in Ukraine.

It is not an informal, well, if you feel like not coming in today, no problem. We will call that telework.

I do not--I--we do not have evidence that that is the case.

Telework is a very vibrant tool in the private sector. They are way ahead of us in the public sector.

I am hoping, quite frankly--I guess I am still an optimist--that, 25 years from now, 40 years from now, we still will not be on this ledge of telework.

It is our responsibility, I think, to get out of our own minds.