There are values that may be intangible, but no less real.

I also understand that the FTC and the U.S. General Services Administration believe that the transfer would not be advisable.

You, Mr. Chairman, have been an avowed supporter of the arts, which I very much appreciate.

What is our responsibility, as Congress, to answer that question?

I also want to applaud you and Ranking Member Norton for your leadership on this issue.

I thank my colleague. When I first heard that Barry Sullivan was retiring, my reaction was, Say it ain't so. I have been in this body for 5 years, and one of the first people I met in orientation was Barry Sullivan. And as a son of Boston…

I am glad we are holding this hearing. I think Bangladesh is a very important nation, obviously, in Southeast Asia and with a lot of challenges but also enormous promise.

I particularly highlight the Haiti legislation. This is a country devastated by an earthquake, and its recovery has been slow and painful and uneven at best.

Today the House considered a bill introduced by Rep. Fred Upton deceptively titled the ``Keep Your Health Plan Act of 2013.'' The bill actually does nothing to address the situation in which some individuals have had their coverage…

If we talk about whether you can make a train services viable without a subsidy, all viable train services, major train services in industrialized countries, require subsidies to be viable.

I would respectfully suggest though since the subject is operating at a profit, operating at a loss, how much of a loss, how much loss is desirable, what are some models we can look to.

Wouldn't it have been useful for someone to understand in full disclosure that you are citing it as an example and that it operates at a loss?

There is no human problem that cannot lend itself to a solution with another hearing.

Your advocacy is something very important.

This President is not a reliable supporter or friend of Israel.

So we in Congress can't have it both ways, we can't beat up on you on the fact that you have a backlog and then we shut down the government, forcing you to make some tough decisions about who gets furloughed and who doesn't, hampering an…

I noticed in the news this morning there were protests in Israel today because Prime Minister Netanyahu is releasing, I think, 40 Palestinians convicted of horrific crimes against the Israelis.

I think we have got to be more thoughtful and careful-thinking and not just projecting reflexively, if you will, the worst-case scenario.

So we don't face easy choices here with this tool.

the greater good is served by the ending of bloodshed and the succession of a government that tries to be inclusive.

I think the reason he is releasing them is because Secretary of State John Kerry broke his arm to release them, because he wants to energize the peace process and get the Palestinians engaged in negotiations with Israel.

What is it we are seeking to accomplish? We have to, it seems to me, be on our guard about only making a point, even a moral point.

So let me get this straight. We favor democracy unless it's a fledgling government, in which case we have a special category, and we put them under a certain scrutiny and if they don't meet standards that are not explicit it's okay to…

Am I to understand from that that the United States Government is saying even if you win a free and democratic election if you alienate people in your governance it's okay to overthrow it?

We can either afford to fund a food stamp program or we can fund our foreign policy interests. We cannot do both.