"...As a mother of five myself, and as a grandmother, I know how children thrive when they have the attention, the love, the food, the care that they need. And it always is a wonderment to me that in this, the greatest country that ever existed in the history of the world, that one in four or one in five children goes to sleep hungry at night. And so, it’s another wonderment to me why would we even have this conversation on the floor of the House as to whether we as a nation are prepared to feed our children."

"...Starting today, Frederick Douglass will stand tall in the U.S. Capitol: a tribute to his leadership, to his prominent place in the pantheon of history. Frederick Douglass earned fame and recognition as an abolitionist and a leader. But he was also a leader in the fight for women’s suffrage, as has been acknowledged."

“Our constituents have made it clear time and time again: we must work together to create jobs, to strengthen the middle class, and to grow the economy. Yet, once again, Republicans refuse to listen. Instead, we are debating legislation that endangers women’s health and that disrespects the judgment of the American women and their doctors on how to make judgments about women’s health..."

“CBO released its findings on the same day that Republicans decided to take up a partisan, enforcement-only bill in the House Judiciary Committee that undermines progress toward a bipartisan agreement. This cost estimate strengthens the case for fixing our broken immigration system with commonsense steps to secure our borders, protect our workers, unite families, and offer an earned pathway to citizenship."

“With the six-month anniversary of the Newtown tragedy fresh in our minds, we must continue working to restore confidence in the safety of our communities with clear, concrete steps to prevent gun violence. Such actions will be a truly fitting memorial for the students and teachers of Sandy Hook, and for victims of gun violence across our country. We must do our part to save lives and ensure the safety of all Americans.”

"But not one single jobs bill. Nearly six months...Now, it's over two months since we've had the opportunity to go to conference for a budget, a budget that would create jobs, which would grow the economy, which would reduce the deficit, and to do so in a timely fashion..."

“And so I thank the families of Newtown for turning your grief into action. The grief is still there, but the action is essential. Your unimaginable loss, turning that into unsurpassed determination to carry on. Yesterday, many of the families of Newtown met with Democratic and Republican leaders but their agenda was non-partisan. It wasn’t – we had an opportunity to hear their commitment to the cause and as Senator, Leader Reid has said: ‘We’re not backing down, this is not over. In many ways we’ve begun another phase of this fight...’"

“Over the past six months, many words have been spoken to offer our love and support to the community of Newtown and to the students and teachers of Sandy Hook. Yet, from the start, we have known that words of comfort would never be enough – they would be no substitute for the action that we must take, that would be a truly fitting memorial to the 20 children and six teachers and administrators lost that day..."

“Following in the footsteps of Alan Krueger is no easy task, but Jason Furman has earned the trust of the President, the confidence of his colleagues, and the respect of economic leaders who will work with him to help navigate our country into a strong, vibrant, and resilient economic future. We look forward to working with him to find long-term solutions that meet our challenges, reach our goals, and help move our country forward.”

“...From the Equal Pay Act signed by President Kennedy in 1963 to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act signed by President Obama in 2009, each generation has made strides toward the basic principle of equality in our country. I salute the efforts of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro to ensure that America’s women – especially our daughters – earn equal pay for equal work and call upon Congress to take the next step by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. We cannot wait another 50 years to see it become law.”